But, D

Ko, J

Kwan, MC

Lam, TH

Leung, GM

Yu, Z

Hong Kong Medical Journal

HKU Scholars Hub

Title Smoking makes Marlboro cowboy 'unfit'Author(s) Ko, J; But, D; Kwan, MC; Yu, Z; Lam, TH; Leung, GMCitation Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2001, v. 7 n. 3, p. 322Issued Date 2001URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/53519Rights Hong Kong Medical Journal. Copyright © Hong Kong MedicalAssociation.322      HKMJ Vol 7 No 3 September 2001LETTERS TO THE EDITORTo the Editor—In addition to dying from lung cancerand suffering from coronary artery disease, it is alsolikely that the Marlboro cowboy is impotent and infertile.Adverse effects of smoking on male sexual healthinclude erectile dysfunction, reduced volume of ejacu-late, lowered sperm count, abnormal sperm shape, andimpaired sperm motility.1,2 Smoking has been shownto increase the risk of erectile dysfunction by about50% for young men in their thirties and forties.1 TheAction on Smoking and Health, an anti-tobacco lobbygroup, and the British Medical Association estimatedthat up to 120 000 British young men were impotentas a direct consequence of smoking.3 According to theSmoking makes Marlboro cowboy ‘unfit’Fig. Smoking makes Marlboro cowboy ‘unfit’same study, 88% of male smokers did not realise thatsmoking could cause impotence.3 Anecdotally, wespeculate that this number is probably even higher inHong Kong.As a result of the Problem-based Learning in PublicHealth Module in the Year III undergraduate clinicalprogramme at the University of Hong Kong, we haveproduced a poster geared at Hong Kong’s young peopleto warn them of the real risk of smoking-related impo-tence and infertility (Fig). This may be as powerful amessage as any in deterring teens from starting tosmoke and in getting young smokers to stop ‘lightingup’.J KoD ButMC KwanZ YuFaculty of MedicineThe University of Hong KongPokfulam, Hong KongTH Lam, MD, FFPHMGM Leung, MD, MFPHMDepartment of Community MedicineThe University of Hong KongPokfulam, Hong KongReferences1. Jeunemann KP, Lue TF, Luo JA, Benowitz NL, Abozeid M,Tanagho EA. The effect of cigarette smoking on penile erection.J Urol 1987;138:438-41.2. Evans HJ, Fletcher J, Torrance M, Hargreave TB. Spermabnormalities and cigarette smoking. Lancet 1981;1:627-9.3. Warning: smoking causes male sexual impotence. London:Action on Smoking and Health;1999. Action on Smoking andHealth and British Medical Association website http://www.ash.org.ukTo the Editor—We read with interest Cheng et al’s1article on non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). This isan issue that has a potentially significant impact onhealth care provision. We are confused, however, aboutthe source of the quoted incidence figures for basalcell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) in Cheng et al’s paper. Hong Kong CancerNon-melanoma skin cancer in Hong KongRegistry data details the incidence of NMSC, but notthe incidence of BCC’s or SCC’s individually.2Cheng et al’s is a clinic-based, not a population-based study. As such, the data quoted falls short ofrepresenting the territory’s true incidence. On this basis,the data is, at best, their clinical impressions. In order

Smoking makes Marlboro cowboy 'unfit'

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Smoking makes Marlboro cowboy 'unfit'

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