Smoking can reduce fertility in both women and men. Secondhand smoke also poses a risk to reproductive health. Tobacco use is linked to infertility in women and to harmful effects on sperm and sexual function in men, according to a newly published review by the World Health Organization, the United Nations’ health agency.
The World Health Organization reviewed data from studies conducted between 2000 and 2026 and found that current smokers face about a 40% higher risk of infertility compared with women who have never smoked. Meanwhile, women who have quit smoking may have about a 25% lower risk of infertility compared with women who smoke regularly.
Harmful effects were also found in men. A review of 44 studies involving more than 60,000 people found that smoking is linked to sperm abnormalities, sexual dysfunction and ejaculation-related complications.
Smoking can also reduce the effectiveness of assisted reproductive treatments such as in vitro fertilization, or IVF, not just natural conception. The likelihood of successful treatment can drop by nearly half for smokers. Worldwide, about one in six people of reproductive age experience infertility at some point in their lives.