Semen quality of smoking and non-smoking men in infertile couples in a Swedish population.

A study of semen quality, using conventional semen analysis, was undertaken. 186 male smokers were compared with 164 non-smoking men undergoing infertility investigation. The cigarette smokers were subdivided into three groups according to the number of cigarettes they smoked: less than 10 (n = 27), 10-19 (n = 84) and greater than 19 cigarettes per day (n = 75). No statistically significant effect of cigarette smoking on sperm density, motility or morphologic features of sperm was detected. Nor was any significant difference in sperm quality, except for semen volume and total sperm count, disclosed between men in the different smoking categories or between heavy smokers and non-smoking men. Thus, the present study does not corroborate reports of detrimental effects of cigarette smoking alone on sperm concentration, motility or morphology on the bases of this population of Swedish men in infertile couples.