Mini-review of studies on the effect of smoking and drinking habits on semen parameters

This article aims at evaluating the impact of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption on different semen parameters (volume, concentration, motility, morphology, total sperm count and viability), by reviewing all the published literature on smoking, alcohol and sperm morphology. The studies on smoking and sperm abnormalities show a limited effect of smoking on conventional sperm parameters. The data on alcohol are more sparse, and show an apparent protective effect of moderate alcohol drinking on sperm parameters, probably due to the antioxidant effect of some alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately, none of the studies that considered both alcohol and smoking habits conducted the analysis of the joint effect of the two exposure factors. More standardized laboratory assays and increased sample size studies involving subjects with various level of exposure to alcohol and smoking are needed to better establish the role of these factors in male infertility.