iTODAY: Passive smoking may damage sperm DNA

From iTODAY:Passive smoking may damage sperm DNA

| Jul 20, 2011 6:00

LONDON - Passive smoking may cause mutations in the DNA of sperm, according to a study in mice. The findings suggest that men exposed to second-hand smoke could pass on any resulting genetic abnormalities to their children.

Men who smoke are known to be at higher risk of developing abnormalities in their sperm, including reduced motility and increased DNA damage.

"Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that there is enough evidence to link paternal smoking in humans with increased risk of childhood cancer, suggesting that tobacco smoking causes heritable germ cell mutation in humans," wrote Ms Francesco Marchetti of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, who led the new research.

Their paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mr Allan Pacey, a fertility expert at the University of Sheffield, said: "What we don't know and what we overlook is the influence of passive smoking. I guess it's no surprise that passive smoking causes the same kind of damage because you're just inhaling the same stuff albeit at different levels."

Mr Pacey said that, while the long-term consequences for human health were uncertain, the advice for would-be fathers was clear.

"If you're trying to conceive, stopping smoking is good advice and removing yourself from the influences of passive smoking is good advice." The Guardian

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