Smoking & Impotence Go Together : Men with high blood pressure who smoke are 26 times more likely to have erectile dysfunction - impotence - than nonsmokers. Erectile dysfunction, or impotence, is the inability of a man to achieve an erection or to complete intercourse, he said, and affects an estimated 30 million Americans. Cigarette smoking, hypertension and erectile dysfunction are common disorders in primary care, and informing men who smoke of the exceptionally high possibility of developing erectile dysfunction may motivate many to quit their tobacco habit : the more cigarettes smoked per day the greater the chance of impotence.

Erectile Dysfunction (Impotence or Impotency) : Erectile dysfunction (ED), also known as impotence, is the inability to achieve or sustain an erection for satisfactory sexual activity. Erectile dysfunction is different from other conditions that interfere with sexual intercourse, such as lack of sexual desire and problems with ejaculation and orgasm. Erectile dysfunction (ED, impotence) varies in severity; some men have a total inability to achieve an erection, others have an inconsistent ability to achieve an erection, and still others can sustain only brief erections. The variations in severity of erectile dysfunction make estimating its frequency difficult. Many men also are reluctant to discuss erectile dysfunction with their doctors, and thus the condition is under-diagnosed. Nevertheless, experts have estimated that erectile dysfunction affects 30 million men in the Untied States. Erection begins with sexual stimulation. Sexual stimulation can be tactile (for example, by touching the penis), or mental (for example, by having sexual fantasies). Sexual stimulation generates electrical impulses along the nerves going to the penis and causes the nerves to release nitric oxide, which in turn increases the production of cyclic GMP (cGMP) in the smooth muscle cells of the corpora cavernosa. The cGMP causes the smooth muscles of the corpora cavernosa to relax, and allow rapid blood flow into the penis. The in-coming blood fills the corpora cavernosa, making the penis expand. The pressure from the expanding penis compresses the veins (blood vessels that drain the blood out of the penis) in the tunica albuginea, helping to trap the blood in the corpora cavernosa, thereby sustaining erection. Erection is reversed when cGMP levels in the corpora cavernosa fall, causing the smooth muscles of the corpora cavernosa to contract, stopping the inflow of blood and opening veins that drain blood away from the penis. The levels of the cGMP in the corpora cavernosa fall because it is destroyed by an enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 5.

What Is An Erection : The penis has three long tubes of cylindrical erectile tissue which , are connected together by fibrous tissue. Called corpora cavernosa these two identical sections run parallel along the sides of the penis with the third tube (corpus spongiosum) laying underneath. These three also surround the urethra the tube which transports either sperm or urine. All three masses are like sponges in that they contain large spaces between loose networks of tissue. When the penis is limp (doctors call this 'flaccid' or 'resting'), then the spaces collapse and the tissue is reduced (that's why it's smaller). However when you start to get an erection, blood flows into these spaces causing the penis to enlarge. Now in theory this happens because of physical or psychological stimulation, but try telling that to a teenage boy who gets one while slumbering through algebra! Anyway as blood enters there is also a temporary reduction in the rate and volume of blood leaving the penis. So as the arteries carrying blood to the penis dilate the veins leading away use funnel-shaped valves to restrict the outflow of blood. Then as the erectile tissue begins to enlarge additional pressure happens as the veins to be compressed against the surrounding tissue, which in turn further restricts the outflow of blood. Now during all this process the three tubes don't swell up by the same pressure. The underneath tube (remember it's called the corpus spongiosum) doesn't become as hard as the two main sections (corpora cavernosa), if it did this would crush the urethra making it impossible to ejaculate (no thanks)! When this process is over your penis is becoming soft again as the arteries relaxed and contract.

Treatments for erectile dysfunction : Treatments for erectile dysfunction in 2004 include: Working with doctors to select medications that do not impair erectile function, Making life style improvements (for example; quitting smoking, and exercising more), Drugs such as sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra) or tadalafil (Cialis), Inserting medications into the urethra (intraurethral suppositories), Injecting medications into the corpora cavernosae (intracavernosal injections), Vacuum constrictive devices for the penis, Penile prostheses, and Psychotherapy.