title: The effects of cigarette smoking on human sexual potency.
abstract: Forty-two male cigarette smokers, age 18 to 44, were randomly assigned to high-nicotine, low-nicotine, or control groups in a study relating cigarette smoking to sexual response. Subjects watched erotic film segments while their penile diameters, heart rates, and finger pulse amplitudes were continuously recorded by a polygraph. Subjects in the smoking groups smoked relatively high-nicotine (.9 mg) or very low-nicotine (.002 mg) cigarettes prior to watching the last two films, while control subjects ate candy. Smoking two high-nicotine cigarettes in immediate succession significantly decreased the rate of penile diameter change relative to the other conditions. These effects were not seen after a single cigarette was smoked. High-nicotine cigarettes caused significantly more vasoconstriction and heart rate increase than did low-nicotine cigarettes, which did not differ from control conditions.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000139:chemically induced; D005385:Fingers / Q000098:blood supply; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000187:drug effects*; D011674:Pulse / Q000187:drug effects; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012907:Smoking; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine