Smoking Can Harm Sperm, Researchers Find

Well” blog reports that a study published in BJU International found that the sperm of male smokers was “damaged in ways that could reduce the chance of fertilization and might also lead to health problems in the baby.” The researchers found that the “DNA in smokers’ sperm was fragmented, probably because of oxidative stress from the cadmium and nicotine in cigarette smoke,” which has been associated with increased risk of genetic problems and childhood cancer. They also found nonintact acrosomes and changes in seminal plasma, both of which “might impair fertilization.” http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/22/smoking-damages-sperm/