According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine virtually all scientific studies support the conclusion that smoking has an adverse impact on fertility. Compared to non-smokers, infertility is more common, and the time it takes to conceive is longer. This is true for passive cigarette smoke exposure as well as for active smokers.

 

A recent review of the effects of smoking on female fertility found that virtually every aspect of the reproductive process is affected by smoking. Smoking had a negative impact on ovarian hormone production, egg production, egg maturation, ovulation and fertilization. Studies have even found that the fallopian tubes are less able to capture the egg at the time of ovulation,  less able to transport the embryo to the uterus and that the likelihood for an embryo to implant  is reduced.

Research also indicates that the degree of harm caused by cigarette smoking is dependent upon the amount and the period of time a woman smokes. Smoking appears to accelerate the loss of eggs and reproductive function and may advance the time of menopause by several years.

Nearly twice as many in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts are required to conceive in smokers than in nonsmokers. Studies of IVF have reported that female smokers require higher doses of fertility drugs to stimulate their ovaries. Even when taking higher doses of fertility drugs, these women don't produce as many eggs and have their IVF cycles canceled more often. They require more embryos to be transferred into the uterus to get as many pregnancies as in women who don't smoke.