Smoking may reduce chances of having a baby, WHO warns

Smoking may make it harder for people to have a baby, with the World Health Organization warning that tobacco use can affect fertility in both women and men.

In a knowledge summary published on its website, the agency linked smoking in women to infertility and said it could reduce the chances of success with some fertility treatments. A review of studies conducted between 2000 and 2026 found that women who currently smoked had a 40% higher risk of infertility than women who did not smoke.

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Smoking may reduce the chances of conceiving for many people worldwide

The findings also pointed to a possible benefit from quitting. Women who had smoked in the past but no longer did had a 25% lower infertility risk than women who continued to smoke. WHO defines infertility as “the failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sex.”

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the failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sex

The agency stressed that fertility should not be treated only as a women’s health issue. It cited a review of 44 studies involving more than 60,000 men, which associated smoking with semen abnormalities, sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, ejaculation problems, poor sperm movement, abnormal sperm shape and the absence of sperm in semen.

WHO also said cigarette smoking was associated with fewer pregnancies and live births after assisted reproduction, including in-vitro fertilisation. It warned that successful outcomes “may be roughly halved by cigarette smoking.” Exposure to second-hand smoke may raise women’s infertility risk and reduce their chance of conceiving each month. The agency said evidence remains strongest for cigarettes, while the fertility effects of e-cigarettes, waterpipes and smokeless tobacco require further research.

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may be roughly halved by cigarette smoking