Received August 23, 2006
Accepted March 12, 2007

Cigarette smoking is responsible for a high morbidity and mortality. Although the incidence of smoking has decreased among men, the incidence of smoking among 15 to 24 yearold women has been increasing. Cigarettes contain aneugenic and mutagenic agents that can act directly on germ cells. They can also cause a decrease in the antioxidant levels in blood and semen, and interfere with the meiotic division. The prevalence of infertility and the conceiving time increase, and the fecundity and success rate in assisted reproduction treatments are lower in smokers than in non-smokers. Furthermore, cigarette smoking accelerates the ovarian follicular depletion, making menopause occur 1 to 4 years earlier. It causes shorter cycles of less than 24 days, and has a directly affects sperm DNA. Approximately 13% of female infertility is due to smoking. There is evidence that the proportion of male to female births has decreased in the last decades. Although the cause of this tendency is yet undetermined, toxic agents like those in cigarettes are one of the possible causes. The high prevalence of smoking among men and women in reproductive age is cause for great concern and media campaigns against smoking are still deemed necessary.