Pipe tobacco, cigars, and cigarette smoking can all seriously affect your body. The lining of your blood vessels can become damaged by the chemicals in cigarette smoke, which will have a significant impact on how well they work. Those chemicals will also harm the heart, brain, kidneys, and other various tissues throughout the body.
If you smoke and you’re concerned about Erectile Dysfunction (ED), there’s no better time to quit than now. Males who smoke are nearly twice as likely to get ED as nonsmokers. Smoking limits circulation to all areas of the body, including the genitals, making it tougher to develop and retain an erection.
There is a lot of research-based evidence which reveals that smoking can exacerbate erectile dysfunction worse. Smoking tobacco can harm the vascular system, making it more difficult for blood to get to the penis and cause an erection. People often want to know how long after quitting smoking does erectile dysfunction improve.
The connection between smoking and erectile dysfunction (ED), as well as the condition’s signs and symptoms, will all be covered in this article.
What is Erectile Dysfunction?
The inability to achieve and maintain an erection strong enough for intercourse is known as Erectile Dysfunction (Impotence). Up to 30 million males in the US are impacted by it. The body releases chemicals when a male is sexually aroused. These substances cause blood to flow into the penis’ spongy tissue.
During intercourse, the blood pressure maintains the penis’ firmness or erectness. The erection diminishes as the blood returns to the male’s circulation after ejaculation. This procedure is hampered by the penis’s restricted blood supply.
Erectile Dysfunction symptoms could include persistent:
- Having issues obtaining an erection
- Difficulty keeping an erection
- Decreased sexual desire
Smoking and Erectile Dysfunction evidence-based analysis:
According to a study published in June 2016, men who smoke cause more harm to their sperm than non-smokers do. The study, which was published in the journal BJU International, compared 20 males who did not smoke to 20 men who did. Smokers showed a larger percentage of damaged sperm, which may have been related to the inflammation found in the accessory glands and testes. Smoking seems to harm sperm health and increase DNA fragmentation. These issues with the men’s sperm may have an impact on their ability to reproduce.
The strong indirect proof is offered by clinical and fundamental science investigations that smoking may impact penile erections by impairing endothelium-dependent smooth muscle relaxation. Smoking appears to make the link between erectile dysfunction and risk factors like coronary artery disease and hypertension more prominent. Smoking may double the risk of having moderate or severe erectile dysfunction. Smoking cessation may reduce the incidence of erectile dysfunction because the prevalence of erectile dysfunction among former smokers was the same as that in people who had never smoked.
In a research study conducted in 2004, smokers and ex-smokers with erectile dysfunction were evaluated for persistent ED over one year. The ex-smokers reported a significant reduction in erectile dysfunction symptoms, with an improvement in about 25% of participants.
On the other hand, there was no improvement in the smokers’ erectile dysfunction; everyone who had it at the start of the study also had it at the end. In contrast, 6.8% of the study’s smoker participants reported that their erectile dysfunction symptoms had gotten worse.
In general, over half of the males over age 40 will have some varying degree of erectile dysfunction, but smokers are at an even higher risk irrespective of age and other comorbidities. Another study indicated that smoking may result in potential sperm damage and other fertility difficulties.
Erectile Dysfunction and Smoking Cessation:
It is quite disappointing and unmotivated to know that smoking is one of the contributing factors to Erectile dysfunction. People get frustrated due to mental pressure while facing erectile dysfunction as it can lead to relationship problems. Quitting smoking often leads to withdrawal symptoms. People tend to give up sometimes and keep on hunting how long after quitting smoking does erectile dysfunction improve to keep them going and motivated on their quitting smoking journey.
Nicotine, which is a vasoconstrictor (a type of substance that restricts blood flow throughout the body) harms sexual function, as erections are heavily dependent on both a combination of signaling from your brain and a reliable amount of blood supply transported via your arteries and into your penis.
Nitric oxide is a chemical signal that your brain sends to the nerves in the penis when you begin to feel stimulated. This will cause arteries to widen, increasing the amount of blood flowing to the corpus cavernosum (the spongy tissue of the penis that fills with blood and hardens to form the erection).
Smoking and other unhealthy habits can significantly reduce blood flow, which can make getting an erection much more challenging. Scientific studies reported that men who changed their lifestyles to promote cardiovascular health by reducing their cholesterol and blood pressure, dropping weight, and exercising along with quitting smoking saw improvements in their ED symptoms.
How long after quitting smoking does Erectile Dysfunction improve?
First, regardless of age or other contributing health issues, research indicates that men who smoke are more likely to experience erectile dysfunction. People often want to know if they are smoking and want to quit, how long after quitting smoking does erectile dysfunction improve.
This implies that young men, not just those in their middle or later years, are more likely to experience issues with their erections if they smoke. For men who smoke frequently, the likelihood is significantly higher. It also gets worse the more packs of cigarettes a man smokes throughout his lifetime.
The usual time it takes to increase your erections after quitting smoking is six to twelve months. Even though it could seem like a long period, it’s preferable to continue smoking and extend your “growing” process.
If getting an erection is a problem for you, you must stop smoking as soon as possible. According to several studies, it gets harder for ex-smokers to regain erectile function as they age. Yet, younger males under the age of 50 who gave up smoking appeared to have no problems improving their capacity for sexual performance.
Your health instantly starts to improve once you stop smoking. It lowers your blood pressure. Your risk of having a heart attack decreases. Most significantly, your circulation starts to improve between 2 to 12 weeks, which is crucial for ED prevention.
Ways to stop Smoking:
Although being so tremendously harmful to your health, quitting smoking can be one of the hardest things for someone to do. As challenging as it may be, it’s important to try to find a way to at least cut back on smoking if you are unable to stop altogether. A few of the tested options to quit smoking are:
- Concentrating on their reasons for wanting to stop: Examples include reducing ED symptoms and increasing life expectancy.
- Using other methods of stress management or coping with unpleasant feelings, such as meditation, yoga, or counseling, may be helpful.
- Try something to munch to avoid the inevitable urge to smoke. Munch on sugarless gum or hard candy. Rather, have some crunchy and flavorful snacks like raw carrots, almonds, or sunflower seeds.
- Keeping a positive attitude: It’s important to avoid becoming disheartened by any prior attempts to give up. People should consider what they have learned and what they can do differently this time around rather than dwelling on failure.
- Reaching out: A person can keep on track with their quitting goals and acquire the support they require by asking for assistance from friends, family, or NGOs.
- Those experiencing withdrawal symptoms might also discuss drugs, such as nicotine replacement therapy, with medical specialists.
When to See a Doctor?
Being unable to achieve or sustain an erection is the main sign of ED. Of course, it is typical for things like this to occur occasionally. Yet, physicians refer to it as an ED when it occurs frequently or regularly. People with ED often complain about relationship issues which result in depression and low self-esteem.
It is typically a good idea to speak with a doctor if someone is frequently or routinely experiencing ED. It can indicate untreated cardiovascular disease. The doctor will examine your usage of recreational drugs, how much alcohol you consume, and whether or not you smoke. Then they’ll undertake a physical exam. This will include your penis and prostate.
To screen for conditions like diabetes or heart disease, the doctor may also perform blood and other lab tests. It will give them a better outlook to offer your correct diagnosis and treatment plan or counseling as needed. Don’t hesitate to speak with your doctor and check if smoking is the reason behind your erectile dysfunction, how severe it is and how long after quitting smoking does erectile dysfunction improve. They will counsel and guide the best way out.
Best ED Medication:
It may not be possible to fully restore erectile functions after quitting smoking, depending on how much damage had been done. In this case, a variety of erectile dysfunction drugs, including Vardenafil, Viagra, etc are readily available.
All of them increase the flow of blood to the penis. The use of the medications in conjunction with sexual stimulation can result in erections strong enough to start and end sexual activity. Furthermore, Staxyn, a fast-acting version of Levitra, is available for oral administration.
One ED medication, Cialis, has FDA approval for daily use in doses of 2.5mg or 5mg. This aids in generating erections on demand and might also reduce urinary issues brought on by an enlarged prostate, such as trouble urinating for the first few minutes.
Takeaway:
Smoking is responsible for dozens, possibly hundreds, of potential health-linked illnesses and disorders. Erectile dysfunction is one of them, but smoking can also have an impact on overall sexual performance.
There is no reason to continue battling erectile dysfunction in the meanwhile. See your doctor to see if you can quit smoking, and while you’re there, find out if any prescription drugs could assist with erectile dysfunction.
FAQs:
Is smoking and erectile dysfunction reversible?
Yes, studies reported that within a set of time frames if people decide to quit smoking and improve their lifestyle along with some exercises can help to reverse symptoms of erectile dysfunction.
Can smoking cause impotence?
Impotence, often known as erectile dysfunction (ED), is brought on by a variety of psychological and physical causes. Smoking cigarettes is one of them. Smoking can harm blood vessels and ED frequently results from inadequate arterial blood supply to the penis.
Can smoking always cause ED to happen?
The impacts of cigarette chemicals on the blood vessels in the penis are what cause the risk of smoking to your erectile health. When the arteries in the penis get impulses from the penis’ nerves, they widen and fill with blood, causing an erection. The nerves react to the brain’s signals of sexual excitement. If the blood vessels are diseased owing to smoking, an erection may not be physically achievable even though the neurological system is functioning normally. Therefore smoking can lead to ED if done for a prolonged period.
How long does it take after smoking to repair the damage?
People report that after cessation of smoking for six months to one year, symptoms of ED can be improved.
Will quitting smoking and exercising help ED?
In many circumstances, quitting smoking along with exercise can assist to improve ED. It can increase blood flow, which will make it simpler for the blood to enter and remain in the penis during intercourse and decrease the symptoms of ED.
How long after quitting smoking does erectile dysfunction improve?
Scientific research has demonstrated that the severity of erectile dysfunction in smokers is closely linked to their level of exposure to smoking. It also reveals how quitting smoking can significantly lessen and even get rid of erectile dysfunction symptoms. It often takes six to twelve months after stopping smoking for your erections to increase. Even though it might feel like a long time, it’s better than continuing to smoke and delaying your “developing”.
