Health Update: Smoke alarms
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.MEN with semen of 'marginal' quality could improve their chances of conception by giving up smoking, say researchers from the University of North Carolina. In an analysis of 20 studies, published in Fertility and Sterility, they found smokers' sperm density to be 13 to 17 per cent lower.
Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham NC, write in the Journal of the American Medical Association that a mother-to-be who smokes may do her foetus more harm than if she took cocaine. Both habits restrict blood flow to the unborn child, but nicotine may also have a harmful effect on brain cell development in the third trimester.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments