Smoking Cessation and Sexual Health in Men

Objective: Tobacco use constitutes the single most preventable cause of disease and death in
the world today and is responsible for introducing a number of diseases including many types
of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases. Extensive literature indicates
that cigarette smoking is an independent risk factor for introducing erectile impairment in
men. Controlled clinical trials examining the effects of smoking cessation on sexual
functioning are necessary in order to investigate whether quitting smoking improves sexual
health.

Design: This is a 12-week clinical trial in which 80 male long-term smokers will be tested
at baseline (while smoking) and then randomized to an 8-week nicotine patch treatment
regimen (n = 50) or to a delayed treatment wait list condition (n = 30). All participants
will be reassessed at mid-treatment (4 weeks), and at 1-month follow-up.

Main Outcome Measures: Physiological (penile circumferential change via penile
plethysmography), and subjective (continuous self-report) sexual responses to erotic stimuli
will be examined, as well as global changes in self-reported sexual functioning.

Implications: If participants do in fact demonstrate a significant increase in sexual
arousal and sexual functioning as a result of smoking cessation, these results may have the
potential for facilitating programs and interventions targeting the prevention and cessation
of cigarette smoking in men. This would alleviate enormous economic burdens caused by
erectile dysfunction and other smoking-related diseases.