The World Health Organization has flagged tobacco smoking as a fertility risk that people can actually do something about.
Infertility touches far more people than many realize. According to the World Health Organization, around 1 in 6 people of reproductive age go through it at some point in their lives. Many of the causes sit outside anyone’s control, but the WHO has drawn attention to one that does not: tobacco smoking.
In a statement marking the link between tobacco and fertility, the WHO laid out the evidence that smoking can lower the chances of having a baby for both women and men. The organization framed it as a modifiable risk, meaning it is one of the few fertility factors a person can change through their own choices.
The message is aimed at anyone planning a pregnancy, and at the health workers who advise them. Rather than treating infertility as purely a matter of luck or biology, the WHO wants smoking recognized as a factor worth addressing early, before couples run into difficulty.
How Smoking Affects Fertility in Women and Men
The figures the WHO cited are hard to brush aside. Drawing on research spanning from 2000 to 2026, the organization noted that women who currently smoke carry a 40 percent higher risk of infertility than women who do not. There was a hopeful side to the same data, since former smokers who had quit showed a 25 percent lower risk of infertility than those who kept going.
For men, the picture is just as clear. A review of 44 studies covering more than 60,000 men linked smoking to a range of reproductive problems. These included abnormalities in semen, erectile dysfunction, difficulties with ejaculation, and sperm that was absent, poorly motile or abnormally shaped. Taken together, the findings tie smoking to reduced fertility across the board.
The WHO defines infertility as the failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sex. Against that definition, the research suggests smoking can push the odds in the wrong direction for both partners, which matters for couples trying to conceive.
The effects reach into fertility treatment as well. The WHO pointed to research from 21 studies showing that cigarette smoking is linked to fewer live births and pregnancies after assisted reproduction methods such as in vitro fertilization. In practical terms, the organization said the chances of a successful outcome may be roughly halved by smoking.
That is a significant finding for anyone turning to treatments like IVF, which are often costly and emotionally demanding. The suggestion that smoking could cut the success rate by around half gives couples a concrete reason to consider quitting before starting a cycle.
Secondhand smoke carries risks too. The WHO said exposure to other people’s tobacco smoke may raise the risk of infertility in women and lower the monthly chance of conception. That widens the concern beyond smokers themselves to the people around them, including partners and family members in the same household.
The WHO’s guidance centers on information and support. It called on healthcare providers to tell individuals and couples who are planning a pregnancy about the reproductive risks of tobacco use, and to offer evidence-based help to quit. The idea is to make the conversation a routine part of care rather than an afterthought.
The organization also urged that brief advice on quitting be offered consistently to all tobacco users across healthcare settings, not only to those actively trying to conceive. Small, regular prompts from health workers can add up, and the WHO sees them as a low-cost way to help people cut back or stop.
Many fertility challenges cannot be prevented, but smoking is one factor that responds to change, and the evidence suggests stopping can improve the odds. The WHO’s decision to spotlight the issue reflects how often tobacco is left out of conversations about fertility, despite the strength of the research linking the two.
The broader point is one of agency. Infertility can feel like something that happens to people rather than something they can influence, and to a large extent that is true. Yet within that picture, the WHO has identified a clear, evidence-backed step, and it is encouraging people to weigh it as they think about their reproductive health.
Disclaimer: Anyone with concerns about fertility or quitting smoking should speak with a qualified healthcare professional.
