Sexual reproduction is seriously damaged by smoking, as is child health. The British Medical Association carried out a study and found that 120,000 men aged 30-50 had become impotent in the UK as a result of cigarette smoking.
About 5,000 miscarriages in the UK every year happen because of smoking. Women smokers increase their risk of getting cervical cancer.
The BMA (British Medical Association) says the government should get stricter and help pregnant women get of cigarettes.
They say that the damage cause by smoking goes through a human's whole reproductive life (puberty to late middle age).
A woman's fertility goes down 40% if she smokes (her chances of conceiving during her cycle goes down by 40%).
Smoking pregnant women are much more likely to have underweight babies. Underweight babies have lots of problems (many actually die).
It seems that smoking is also responsible for an increased risk of the baby being born with a cleft lip or palate.
A woman's breast milk is of a lower quality if she smokes (she also produces less milk).
Cot deaths, premature births, respiratory infections in kids and childhood asthma are all increased as a result of passive smoking.
Over 17,000 kids/babies in the UK (under 5) are admitted to hospital each year as a result of passive smoking (usually respiratory illnesses).
The BMA has that the sheer scale of the damage caused by cigarettes is shocking.
The BMA says that any couple thinking of starting a family should quite immediately.