[Cigarette smoking and fertility in women and men].

Cigarette smoking consequences on female and male reproduction have been evaluated for twenty years only and thus poorly spread in the general population. However, several studies have noticed noxious effects of tobacco before and after conception, in both women and men, from smokers gametes to their offspring. This negative impact occurs in spontaneous as well as in assisted reproduction (ART). For women, pregnancy rate is decreased, early spontaneous abortions are increased and ovarian reserve is altered. For men, standard sperm parameters are modified and spermatozoon nuclear quality is compromised. One of the mechanisms involved in those anomalies could be the oxidative stress produced by some cigarette smoking components. The consequences on smokers offspring are hardly evaluated yet: pathologies of the respiratory system, decrease of fecundity and cancers outcomes. In conclusion, it seems obvious that smokers - men as women - have to quit smoking before having a parental project.