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by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.
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Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Smoking and Impotence—That Ought to Get Your Attention!

Saturday December 16, 2000

Many recent studies have linked smoking with impotence. This development has profound possibilities worth getting excited about. The science linking smoking and male sexual dysfunction has been there for years, but for varied reasons (including squeamishness), it has not been part of the war against tobacco. That was before Viagra came along and before everyone, even Bob Dole, began talking about it during prime time and at the water coolers of corporate America.

Now the State of California is running ads as part of a $21 million dollar campaign featuring a smoker with a limp cigarette. I don't know if you've seen the ads but I have and I can tell you --it's not necessary to be a rocket scientist or brain surgeon to get the point.

In Thailand, all cigarette packs must display a warning that smoking causes impotence. Of course, everyone already knew that smoking contributes to heart disease, as well as to all kinds of other ills, by constricting blood vessels to the heart. It should have been obvious to anyone that blood vessels leading to other parts would also be constricted -- seems like a no-brainer. However, the case against smoking gets worse insofar as virility is concerned, for new evidence suggests that the habit lowers sperm counts. Of course, smoking makes you look ridiculous, which is not good for setting the mood for love.

For all these reasons, the new virility-based anti-smoking strategy might prove effective. Isn't it odd that fear of erectile dysfunction could prove to be a more powerful motivator than fear of lung cancer or heart attacks?

Of course, smoking is an addiction more potent than attachments to other potentially hazardous habits, such as chocolate, high fat ice creams, shopping, and even TV spectator sports. Don't assume that fear of impotence is the beginning of the end for the tobacco menace.

In the months and years to come, we can look forward to some entertaining ads at smoker expense. Ultimately, however, the best strategy for overcoming harmful habits will come not from insults and shock therapy but rather from strategies that succeed at helping smokers try healthier lifestyles. Of the latter, the best option is a self-managing lifestyle, with the resulting high sense of personal responsibility and commitment to excellence. Smokers who employ strenuous exercise and other healthy pleasures to overcome the addiction phase of smoking withdrawal are more likely to succeed than those who do so for romance, though the two approaches are not mutually exclusive. As the benefits of healthy living are experienced, former smokers who take up wellness are more likely to stay on track. Viagra is no substitute for an addiction-free life of satisfaction leading to higher overall levels of physical and psychological well being.

Please stay well and try to look on the bright side of life.

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