Sin Tax Law vs Big Tobacco
July 16, 2013Health Advocates to PNoy: Give Priority to Preventive Health Care
July 20, 2013
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SMOKING can cause poor quality sperm like sperm count and possibly the deterioration of the male’s fertility, affecting his ability to impregnate a woman, a non-government agency official said on Friday.
While it has already been clearly established that smoking causes serious harm and premature death among smokers and non-smokers alike, Atty. Diana Trivino, Project Manager at public health of NGO HealthJustice, said that a new study shows that exposure to cigarette smoke can seriously weaken sperm quality in male babies aside from endangering the unborn and limiting fetal growth.
Trivino said the study conducted by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology shows that exposure to cigarette smoke in utero (while inside the mother’s womb), and early on in the child’s life may also lead to reduced semen quality.
The study found that adverse fetal growth, exposure to maternal smoking, and a lower childhood growth pattern, were all associated with a decline in testicular function.
The study is a follow-up to a 1981-1991 research project conducted by the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Cohort which observed 2900 mothers during pregnancy, assessing babies’ fetal growth measurements within the study period.
