Survey finds smoking damages male fertility

Male smokers are at higher risk of reproductive problems, including difficulty conceiving, abnormal sperm and partners who have miscarriages or deformed fetuses, according to a survey based on more than 4,000 male patients across China.

For example, 16.6 percent of all males surveyed - both smokers and nonsmokers - had abnormal semen, including a lower concentration of sperm. But abnormalities were found in 32 percent those who smoked, according to the survey, which was released on Thursday.

The chances of having a deformed fetus for nonsmoking males was 1.1 percent, but was 2.5 percent for smokers, the survey found.