Did you know? Smoking could give you STDs!

By: Editorial Team | | Published: October 14, 2014 12:40 pm

We all know the ill effects smoking or chewing tobacco has on our health, but dying of cancer is not the only thing you need to worry about, if you are a smoker that is. A new study has found that people who use tobacco face are more vulnerable to the sexually transmitted infection, oral human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16). Oral HPV-16 is believed to be responsible for the increase in incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell cancers in the United States. An association between self-reported number of cigarettes currently smoked per day and oral HPV prevalence has been observed, according to background information in the article. Also Read - 'Casual' smokers may also have nicotine addiction: Home remedies to help you quit smoking

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Carole Fakhry from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and along with her colleagues investigated associations between objective biomarkers reflective of all current tobacco exposures (environmental, smoking, and use of smoke-less tobacco) and oral HPV-16 prevalence. The researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a probability sample of the U.S. population. Mobile examination center participants ages 14 to 69 years were eligible for oral HPV DNA testing. (Read: 10 dangerous chemicals in cigarettes) Also Read - Smoking cigarettes can worsen ‘severity of COVID-19 infection’

The analysis included 6,887 NHANES participants, of whom 2,012 (28.6 percent) were current tobacco users and 63 (1.0 percent) had oral HPV-16 detected. Current tobacco users were more likely than nonusers to be male, younger, less educated, and to have a higher number of lifetime oral sexual partners. Self-reported and biological measures of tobacco exposure as well as oral sexual behavior were significantly associated with prevalent oral HPV-16 infection. Oral HPV-16 prevalence was greater in current tobacco users (2.0 percent) compared with never or former tobacco users (0.6 percent). Average cotinine and NNAL levels were higher in individuals with vs without oral HPV-16 infection. (Read: 8 reasons why smoking is bad for your beauty)

The study is published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Why smoking is bad for your sex life?

Lighting up could let you down

According to sexual therapist and men s health physician, Dr Vijaysarathi Ramanathan, Smoking affects almost every system/organ of the body including sexual functioning. People need to understand that erection in men has a lot to do with a healthy heart, blood vessels and good blood flow. So anything that affects blood flow will definitely affect the erection. Evidence suggests smokers are twice as likely to get ED as non-smokers. Nicotine also clogs your arteries with fatty acids, further restricting blood flow to the genitals. So next time you light up, think about it, it might make it harder for you to get it up!

Smoking affects your chances of becoming a father

It s not just enough that smoking makes it harder to get it up but it destroys your sperm as well. Dr Ramanathan says, Smoking lowers your sperm count, increases the percentage of deformed sperm and also causes genetic damage to the sperm. Research suggests that smoking reduces men s sperm concentration by 23% and also hurts its sperm motility (sperm motility refers to the swimming capabilities of the sperm, which if it s unable to do won t be able to reach and fertilise the egg). It also deforms the sperm making it harder for it to swim and fertilise the egg.

Cigarettes and oral contraceptives a deadly combo!

Lighting up can be extremely dangerous for women who are using oral contraceptives or other hormonal birth control methods. Women who use the pill are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular conditions like blood clots, heart attacks and strokes and the risk increases with age. In fact, women above 35 who smoke are asked not to use oral contraceptives at all. Read more about Why smoking is bad for your sex life

With inputs from ANI

Photo source: Getty images

Published : October 14, 2014 12:40 pm

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