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Too Sexy to Smoke

© Alyssa Skye

Remember the days when cigarette ads portrayed smokers as sexy, virile, the epitome of all that makes us tingle in just the right places? There was something about that Marlboro man with his jeans-clad derriere confidently positioned in the saddle as he gazed out over the range, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Or the slim, self-assured Virginia Slims woman exuding sensuality and poise as she smokes her way through a business lunch. How many people took up smoking with the misguided hope that a cigarette could mold them into one of those manipulatively fictional advertising characters? Unfortunately, the numerical answer to that question is most likely in the thousands if not millions of people who now find themselves addicted to nicotine merely because of those sexually-underscored advertisements.

On the brighter side, people are no longer solely faced with the deceiving ads propagated by the tobacco company. Open any magazine or turn on the television and you will most likely be faced with an announcement proclaiming the ill affects which smoking wreaks on a body. No longer does the Marlboro man ride off into the sunset in all his smoking glory. Instead, we see him discussing how much he misses the lung he lost due to cancer caused by his many cigarettes. Americans are starting to realize that smoking can lead to disease, impotence, and ultimately, a painful death.

Not only are we beginning to admit that cigarettes aren't the ticket to sexiness and desire, the experts are attempting to educate the public on the facts regarding smoking and sexuality. Many have probably viewed the television ad which depicts male smokers whose cigarettes go limp when an attractive woman passes by. Anti-smoking campaigns use this ad to show that nicotine, a vasoconstrictor, constricts all the blood vessels in a person's body. In a man, this includes reducing the flow of blood to his penis. Scientists have proven that a male smoker is fifty times more likely to suffer from impotence than a non-smoker is. Furthermore, nicotine lowers testosterone and other hormone levels in the blood.

For a woman smoker, evidence has shown that she is less likely to experience orgasm during sexual stimulation, whether through solo masturbation or with a partner during intercourse. Other side affects of smoking can include ovary damage and decreased estrogen production, early menopause, and increased vaginal dryness. All of these factors can and will affect a woman's sexuality negatively. Finally, for women taking birth control pills, smoking increases the risk of having a heart attack by several percent.

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