Effects of Smoking on Sexual Health

Smoking, in general, has a negative effect on the human body. It can cause a host of disorders such as mouth cancer, blood pressure problems, and lung cancer. Smoking affects the sexual performance of both men and women.

Here are some effects that smoking has on sex :-

1. Impotence: Smoking can damage the blood vessels that lead to erectile dysfunction (a condition where the penis cannot sustain an erection).

2. Decrease in libido: Smoking can cause various physical problems such as stamina reduction and lack of desire for sex. An individual who smokes won't be able to give an optimal sexual performance and this can further lower satisfaction levels.

3. Erectile dysfunction: Smoking can cause problems related to the circulation of the blood in the body. It can narrow the arteries that supply blood and this is directly linked with erectile dysfunction.


4. Tissue damage: Smoking can damage the tissues inside the penis thus impairing your ability to have an erection during sexual intercourse.

5. Early onset of menopause: It can affect the estrogen (a sex hormone) levels in the female body; so, women who smoke tend to reach menopause early.

6. Reduction in penis size: It can reduce the penis size in men by damaging the blood vessels and the structure of the tissue around the penis. This is more common in younger men.

7. Reduction in stamina: Smoking can cause a reduction in the stamina, thus a person will not be able to perform well sexually. It can lead to fatigue and tiredness during sex.

Of course, there are a lot of therapies which can help you recover from the damage already happened because of smoking and prevent further damage.

It is common belief that people are highly interested in sex. However, this is not true. There are a lot of reasons which can reduce this sexual drive, known as libido. The reasons and therefore the causes are slightly different in men and in women. Read on to know some of the most common causes of reduced arousal in men and women and how to deal with it.

Causes of reduced arousal in men:

• Physiologically, sex is greatly influenced by the sex hormones and with age, as there is a gradual decline in the amount of these hormones in circulation, the sex drive also takes a dip. This need not be the case though.

• Stressed relationships is extremely common and though hormones have a big role to play, the mind is equally if not more important. If the couples are not happy, there is going to be no sex. As plain as that!

• Excessive smoking can reduce a person’s sexual arousal and even affect performance.

• Prescription medicines, lack of exercise, anxiety and depression are other causes that also reduce sexual desire.

Management measures:

• Testosterone replacement therapy in males is often used to boost sexual drive.

• Lifestyle changes including regular exercise, quitting or controlled smoking, stress management, healthy relationships can go a long way in improving sexual performance.

• If there are medications that are affecting the sexual drive, talk to your doctor and switch to an alternative.


• Counselling where the partner is also involved also is very important.

Women: The causes for low sexual drive in females is very different from men.

• Cultural differences: The cultural background and upbringing contribute in a big way to how responsive a person is. When it comes to sex, we as a country are still not very frank and open, and so there could be a perceived lack of desire. This is of course in the initial stages of a relationship and given some time, things would change.

• Relationship issues: Stressed relationships are definitely a big no-no for a physical relationship. Happy relationships definitely invite a lot more intimacy between the couple.

• Hormones: Testosterone which is present in both males and females affects sexual drive in women also. This hormone also gradually reduces over age, and causes some loss of libido.

• Medical problems: Depression, anxiety, endometriosis, fibroids, thyroid issues also affect a woman’s drive.

In managing this issue in women, psychology takes over a bigger role. Talking to the woman first and if required the partner helps in solving the issues in most women. Medical conditions, if present, should be corrected to address this issue. Hormone replacement and medication substitution also may be helpful if required.

Sticking to routine is probably not the best idea when it comes to sex. Sex is about getting adventurous and going wild. So here is how you can spice things up in bed and make things interesting when you have been in a long-term relationship.
Here is a list of things that you can do to keep things in the sheets:

Surprise your partner every once in a while: Everybody loves surprises, especially when it is related to sex. It can be anything, from having your partner not say a word while you yank his clothes off and get busy, to walking up to him with whipped cream on the right parts of your body. The key is to keep things interesting, so maybe do not do this too often. Save it for special occasions.

Morning sex once a week, at least: Waking up to a mind-blowing orgasm? No better way to start a day. And the best part is that your partner is right next to you. Studies have shown that sex in the morning helps to raise your alertness and keeps your mood elevated all day.

Share your wildest fantasies: When you have been in a long term relationship, your comfort level is probably at its peak. So go ahead and buy that stringy nurse costume online and surprise your partner. Or go out on a nice long drive, and don’t forget to get frisky with him in the car.

Holiday themed sex: A Santa hat and a ribbon around your waist. That ought to keep you both busy all Christmas.

Try a new position every month: The next time you go to the bookstore, grab yourself a copy of The Kamasutra and help yourselves to the more realistic positions. That can give a wonderful twist to your love life.

Role play: You have been with each other for years now. You both perhaps know each other inside out. Try a little game called role playing where you meet each other all over again. To add to the fun, whip up some new names for each other.

Put technology to its best use: Send a text explaining all the dirty things you would do to your partner after he gets home. That will have him looking forward to what is coming up all day. Maybe attach a tempting picture of yourself, for men are visual creatures. And don’t forget the “NSFW”.

One of the first things that attract a male to a female is the smell. It is not without any strong reason that perfumes for men are advertised so aggressively, and if you keenly observe, it is never done with a lesser known model. It is always the superstars who advertise for scents. So, while you cannot get the superstars to lure your woman for you, you can do the trick also by using some of the popular products available in the market.

Ask girls what are things that turn them on and one of the top 3 things would be how a man smells. This is further validated by multiple researches, where people are asked about what attracts them to the opposite sex. Genetic studies have been conducted and results suggest that women inherit special genes from their fathers which allow them to identify various odours. Just imagine someone smelling bad, sweaty, or pungent. Turned on?? It would be a big NO! It is as simple as that.

Some of the pleasant scents that could turn a girl on include the naturally occurring scents of pheromones. These natural scents are widely used by perfume companies to turn people on. Across the animal kingdom, the pheromones have a powerful effect on inviting the partner for sex. Most major cologne and perfume brands use the pheromones to replicate this effect.

We’ve have often heard that in the animal kingdom ‘pheromones’ are scents that act as signals used to sexually attract mates by the males. But, do pheromones work in humans too? Humans may not have pheromones in the strictly scientific sense, but they do have their own scent. Sexy, musky, dirty, or sweet each one of us has a unique odour and this scent does work as a sexual indicator. In other words, the scent is a communication system and it plays an important role in human sexuality.

Let’s find out how
Sexual arousal and scents
Scents and sexuality has been a much-studied topic for scientists and they have proved conclusively that-

Men’s odours that smell better to women belong to men who have immune genes that differ from their own. The idea here is that women can literally sniff out the scientifically dense complex in men called major histocompatibility complex or MHC. This is a group of genes that affect the immune system. This way, women get to reproduce with stronger mates who can protect their children.
Relation between testosterone and male body odour is male smell, which also communicate or signal other information like body and facial symmetry, testosterone levels, and behavioural dominance.
Testosterone does play a very important role in attracting women. What happens is that women partner preferences change over their ovulatory cycle. This means when a woman is very likely to get pregnant or when she is highly fertile mid ovulation, she prefers the scent of men with high levels of testosterone.


A 2013 study published in Evolution and Human Behavior has nailed this association. Other studies have found that women in the fertile phase of their ovulation cycle preferred the scent of men who scored high on a questionnaire used to check their dominance. And we know that higher testosterone levels have been associated with dominant behaviours, such as status seeking and male aggression and possibly body symmetry.

Trials using two groups of men were: One with pheromone scent and another with a neutral one have indicated that the response from girls was very different to the former group. Pheromones in all animals are linked to increased testosterone production, which in turn improves male sexual arousal and performance.

Signs to assess that a girl is attracted towards your scent and how to approach her?
Now that testosterone has been proven to be a magic bullet to attract women, all you guys have to do is spray on a musky odour which is sexy and alluring. A point to note here is never to mask your natural scent completely. Why? Because women react positively to a little male body odour.

Signs which signal female sexual interest include
An increase in non-verbal communication from women i.e. any communication that doesn’t involve words. Hence, sexual interest is usually shown by increased eye contact, smiling, looking away, dilation of pupils in the eye and the body tilt. If a woman has her torso turned towards you while you are talking, it usually means that she likes you and may be ready to explore the attraction further.

Once you get this confirmation of interest, you can approach a woman by giving non-verbal cues like smiling and eye contact. Depending on the vibes, the next step would be to touch her in a non - sexual part of her body. You can touch her hands or hair initially and go on to explore the language of touch more completely.

So, for guys who are looking to lure a girl, move away from regular cologne and deodorant to something more powerful. It is not without reason that these ads show men’s shirts being torn off by women. This does not, however, take away other aspects of it.

While there is definitely a strong correlation between how a man smells and how strongly a woman is attracted to her, there are multiple other binding factors. Talk to her and understand that sex is just a part of the relationship, not the only reason to be in a relationship.

There is hardly any person who does not want to enjoy a healthy and satisfying sex life. As per Ayurveda, a healthy sex life is very much a reality provided one diligently follows the golden sex rules as mentioned in various Ayurvedic books and journals:

Ayurveda believes that a couple should refrain from having sex when the female partner is having her periods. Some health experts are of the belief that sex during periods may give rise to a condition termed as Endometriosis (the endometrial cells grow outside the uterus, often in the ovary or the fallopian tubes).

According to Ayurveda, an ideal sex position is one where the woman is lying with her face directed in an upward position.

Ayurveda also believes very overweight or obese people should avoid having sex.

Have sex only when your private parts are clean and healthy (as this helps to prevent infections and associated complications).

According to Ayurveda, loyalty and faithfulness are what gets a relationship going. Infidelity, adultery, or cheating on your wife is a crime that will only spell doom.

Ayurveda is against a couple having sex during pregnancy or immediately after delivery. One should have control over their urges. It further states that a 5-months time in the case of a C-section and 2-3 months interval in the case of a normal delivery will go a long way in ensuring a healthy sex life (will help the woman to recover well).

Ayurveda is vehemently opposes violent sex. Making love is suppose to soothe your soul rather than scar it. Violence during sex is not healthy at all.

Ayurveda believes in having sex using sexual organs. Thus, oral sex and other similar pleasures are a big No as per Ayurveda.

Ayurveda does not advocate the practice of having sex on days of prime significance such as festivals, various eclipses, on a full moon or new moon nights, to name a few.

Sex on empty stomach or after a heavy meal can trigger a plethora of health problems by causing a Vata and Pitta imbalance. The imbalance may give rise to digestive problems, headache, gastritis.

Ayurveda is strictly against the idea of having sex with aged women or with children.

Always have sex when both the partners are in a comfortable position. This is to ensure that you enjoy the intercourse sans any injury.

Never have sex if you are sick or physically and mentally not fit.

Having sex with animals (bestiality) is considered unhealthy as per Ayurveda.

Sex is not a wise idea when you have to lighten yourself (defecate or urinate).

According to Ayurveda, your sex life is governed by the four seasons during which your body strength changes.

The body strength is the lowest during the monsoon and summer, hence have less sex during that time (once in fifteen days).

With moderate body strength, sex once in three days is advisable during spring and summer.

During winter the body strength is at its peak, hence one can have sex daily.
Vajikaran Chikitsa

Apart from regular exercise and proper nutrition, there are various herbs that can go a long way in boosting your sex life. Few of them include shilajit, ashwagandha, swarn bhasma, jaiphal, and kesar; let us understand how each one is beneficial.

Shilajit works excellently in increasing the stamina, this is why it is known as Indian Viagra. It helps in improving sexual performance and dealing with weakness.

Ashwagandha is another herb that helps in improving the sexual desire and dealing with infertility in men.

Swarn bhasma is known to be one of the best medicine for treating sexual problems like low libido and premature ejaculation in men. It also helps in treating sexual weakness.

Jaiphal works best in dealing with premature ejaculation. It also helps in enhancing sex life and is known as Viagra for women. Its aroma is often used to arouse sexual desires and can help you get relaxed before engaging in a sexual act.

Kesar can go a long way in improving the overall performance in bed. Mixing it with milk can do wonders in 'turning on' your partner, thus improving the sex life.