No Smoking Day, observed annually on the second Wednesday in March, raises awareness about the health hazards of smoking and encourages smokers to quit. Smoking affects the body from head to toe, leaving almost no organ in our body untouched by its hazardous effects. We all are quite aware about how smoking affects our lung and heart health. 

Dr Richa Mittal, Consultant, Pulmonary Medicine at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital says, “No smoking product is safe if you are trying to conceive or even if you are pregnant be it cigarettes, vaping or hookah. It not just impacts the mother but has numerous effects on the baby too. Not just the female but smoking by the male partner is harmful too. The good part is that studies suggest that much of the subfertility associated with smoking can be reversed within a year of cessation of smoking. So the earlier you quit, the better it is for you and your baby.”

How Does Smoking Impacts Female Reproductive System?

Ways in which smoking impacts the reproductive health as shared by Dr Richa are: 

• It reduces your chances to conceive. It leads to subfertility both in males and females
• It has multiple negative effects on pregnancy and during delivery 
• There are long lasting effects on your child’s health, if the baby is exposed to maternal or even if the father smokes regularly. 

Does Smoking Make Conception Difficult?

Dr Richa comments, “Smoking makes it difficult and longer for you to get pregnant. The more you smoke the less are the chances of you to get pregnant. The impact is greatest when the female smokes more than 10 cigarettes per day.”

“Not only it impacts normal conception it makes it difficult to have a child even with in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Robust evidence is there to show that females who smoke have lesser chances of success with IVF and needs more number of cycles as compared to non-smokers.”

“Smoking also leads to early menopause as it causes premature depletion of ovarian pool and premature aging of your ovaries by almost 1-4 years. Smoking can lead to a reduction in sperm count and motility, thereby reducing fertility in men too. The more a male smokes the greater is the reduction in the semen quality”, highlights Dr Richa.

Smoking And Its Effects On Pregnancy

– Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of complications.

– Adverse outcomes include spontaneous pregnancy loss and preterm delivery.

– Smoking can lead to low birth weight and restricted fetal growth.

– Cigarette smoke may increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy.

– Ectopic pregnancy is dangerous for both the baby and the mother.

Smoking And Its Effects On Newborn Baby’s Health

– Nicotine in all smoking products, including vaping, can cross the placenta, affecting fetal and postnatal development.

– Children born to smoking mothers are at higher risk of atopy (allergies) and respiratory issues like infections, asthma, and low lung function.

– Smoking during pregnancy can lead to short stature, lower reading and spelling scores, shorter attention spans, hyperactivity, childhood obesity, and decreased school performance.

– There’s a possible association with severe mental illness in offspring, though evidence is not yet strong.