The impact of e-cigarettes smoking on the male reproductive system and spermatogenesis


DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/urology.2024.5.116-121

Belyi L.E.

Ulyanovsk State University, Ulyanovsk, Russia
The smoking negatively affects main sperm parameters and male fertility. Men of reproductive age (20–39 years old) make up less than half of male smokers. The decision to stop smoking is a rational element of lifestyle modification for a man planning fatherhood or man who are experiencing infertility. The use of electronic cigarettes (vaping) is often recommended as an alternative and an aid in the conventional cigarette smoking cessation process.
In older men, the use of electronic cigarettes promoted as an aid for conventional cigarette smoking cessation, 40% of young vapers had never smoked before.
Scientific data on the effect of electronic cigarette aerosol on the male reproductive system and spermatogenesis are currently limited. The analysis of the composition of liquids for electronic cigarettes and the resulting aerosols revealed more than 80 different compounds.
This review presents new scientific data on the effect of the main components of electronic cigarette liquid on the male reproductive system and spermatogenesis. The paper presents the results of experimental studies proving the negative effect of electronic cigarette aerosol on the cellular organization of the seminal tubules and the system of hormonal regulation of spermatogenesis. Clinical studies have been analyzed. The results obtained do not allow us to assert that vaping is a safe alternative to traditional smoking in the case of a man planning fatherhood and preparing to conceive a child. The results do not allow us to consider vaping to be perceived as a safe alternative to traditional smoking in the case of a men planning fatherhood and men who are experiencing infertility.

About the Autors


Corresponding author: L.E. Belyi – Dr. Sci. (Med), professor of department of hospital surgery, anesthesiology, reanimatology, urology, traumatology, orthopedics, Ulyanovsk State University, Ulyanovsk, Russia; e-mail: lbely@yandex.ru


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