New research suggests that the use of e-cigarettes or vaping may have negative effects on testicular size, sexual desire, and sperm count. Electronic cigarettes, or vapes, are devices that simulate tobacco smoking and include an atomizer, battery, and liquid container. Instead of tobacco, users inhale and exhale vapour. Vaping is also commonly referred to as using an e-cigarette.
Turkish scientists conducted research on rats to find out the effect of smoking on sexual health. Researchers observed that exposing rats to cigarette smoke and e-cigarette vapours lowers the size of their testicles. They also discovered stress indicators in the blood and vaginal tract. The rats were exposed to cigarette smoke or e-cigarette vapours twice a day for one hour each time. And the control group received neither. According to a study published in the Spanish-language journal Revista Internacional de Andrología, traditional cigarettes are significantly more harmful. Rats exposed to cigarette smoke experienced the lowest sperm count among the three groups studied.
In a 2020 study conducted by Danish scientists, it was found that daily e-cigarette users had a lower total sperm count than those who did not use e-cigarettes. Additionally, a study showed that rats exposed to cigarette smoke had smaller and lighter testes compared to the e-cigarette and unexposed groups, suggesting that e-cigarette liquid may increase oxidative stress and cause morphological changes in the testicle. Further research is needed to fully understand the potential effects of e-cigarette use on reproductive health.
