There must be countless scenes in old movies of couples having the celebratory cigarette in bed after sex. In the more subtle days just the smoking scene was enough to imply the unseen steamy activity which had just gone before.

So why do we see this after sex and not before? The after cigarette implies relaxation, comfort and satisfaction, which is curious because nicotine has nothing to do with these states.

Imagine the scene with the before romance smoke. Now we have the ashtray mouth, or the smoke enriched hair killing the moment of passion. Maybe the moment of passion would pass, which certainly isn’t a good idea but maybe there is a strongly bio-chemical reason behind it all.

One cigarette causes a dramatic shut down in your ability to shunt blood to your brain and your genitals for about four hours. This means your nitric oxide levels are about as good as an 80 year old, which translates as a lack of blood and function to your important parts!

A robust 20 year old may not notice any problem but issues of impotence for men and sexual pleasure for women start to creep in clinically in the mid to late twenties and by the mid-forties studies show that as many as 50% of people either can’t perform or don’t enjoy sex.

There are a number of issues involved including, alcohol, industrial omega 6 fats, xeno-estrogens from chemicals and soy oils, medications and sleep deprivation, but smoking is virtually guaranteed to create a problem.

Plus the days of smoking being sexy have long passed and the smell of cigarette smoke would turn off most prospective bed partners.

So you light a cigarette, and the smoke fills your lungs. Most of the toxins will enter your blood stream and travel through your heart. Those toxins which don’t enter your blood stream just have the sensitive tissue of your lungs to attack.

From your heart the toxins travel via arteries, to arterioles, and right down to capillaries. The toxins cause these tiny blood pathways to constrict, and it is these small pathways which supply blood to your entire body.

There is no upside to this restricted circulation, only limited blood flow, nutrient transport and diminished waste removal. So you system starts to look like New York during a garbage strike, instead of a super fast autobahn. And a disturbed system this is certainly not how you want to feel in a tender moment.