How long does it take for erectile dysfunction to get better after quitting smoking?

How long does it take for erectile dysfunction to get better after quitting smoking? No study gives a fixed timeline. Studies have measured improvement at several points: within 24 to 36 hours in small groups, at six months, and at a year, when at least a quarter of quitters with ED had improved and none of the men who kept smoking had. Older men, heavy smokers and men with severe ED improve less.

Can erections improve within days of quitting?

Measures of them can. In 10 smokers, night-time erections recorded at home were firmer after 24 hours without a cigarette, and kept improving in four men who stayed off cigarettes on nicotine patches for a month (Guay et al., 1998). In 20 heavy smokers with ED, an ultrasound of blood flow in the penis, done with an injected medicine that produces an erection, was better 24 to 36 hours after they stopped (Sighinolfi et al., 2007). Neither measured erections during sex, and the second team called for further clinical evaluation.

What changes in the first three months?

Your circulation, though no Australian source puts a date on erections. healthdirect's quitting timeline says that at 2 to 12 weeks "circulation is improved" (healthdirect — Quitting smoking and vaping). One study tested erections in this window: after an 8-week quit programme with nicotine patches, the 20 men who stayed off cigarettes had stronger erections in a laboratory test four weeks later than the 45 who relapsed, but their own ratings of sexual function had not improved any more than the others' (Harte and Meston, 2012). Healthy Male notes the study was not randomised and that four weeks may have been too short (Healthy Male — research review).

How much better is it after six months or a year?

Better for many men. In a trial in 719 Chinese smokers with ED, better erections at six months went with having quit (Chan et al., 2010). In Turkey, 181 men aged 30 to 60 who quit had higher erectile function scores six months later, whether their ED had been mild, moderate or severe; there was no comparison group, and the first month was not measured (Sahin et al., 2020). At one year, among 281 smokers with ED and no other risk factors, erections had improved in at least 25% of the 118 who quit and in none of the 163 who kept smoking (Pourmand et al., 2004).

Who improves most, and who least?

Men with less smoking behind them. Older men and men with advanced ED improved less in the one-year study, and the gain was not statistically significant in the six-month study's heaviest smokers, above 100 pack-years. A review of 83 studies found that quitting can restore erectile function "only if limited lifetime smoking exposure exists" (Biebel et al., 2016). Other causes matter too: the one-year study left out men with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, and those conditions cause or contribute to ED in their own right (healthdirect — Erectile dysfunction). Quitting cannot fix a cause that is not smoking.

Can quitting make erections worse at first?

Rarely, in the one study that counted: over a year, erections worsened in 2.5% of quitters and 6.8% of continuing smokers (Pourmand et al., 2004). Nicotine withdrawal lasts a few days to a few weeks and can bring irritability, low mood and poor sleep, but erection problems are not on healthdirect's list of symptoms. We found no study that tracked erections through withdrawal.

Do nicotine patches or vapes slow recovery?

Nicotine can dampen erections, yet men improved on patches. In 28 young non-smokers, a 6 mg nicotine gum reduced the erection response to an erotic film by 23% compared with a placebo gum (Harte and Meston, 2008), but the men in the 24-hour study kept improving on patches, and the one-year study enrolled smokers using nicotine replacement. healthdirect calls quitting "cold turkey" less effective than nicotine replacement or other quitting medicines, and says there is limited evidence that vapes help you quit. Healthy Male reports that erectile dysfunction is twice as common in men who vape every day as in men who have never vaped (Healthy Male — vaping and men's health).

Where can you get help to quit, and when should you see a GP?

Call Quitline on 13 7848 (13 QUIT) (Quit); people who have support to quit have a better chance (healthdirect). See your GP too if erection problems continue: ED is often the first sign of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol (healthdirect — Erectile dysfunction); see can heart problems cause erectile dysfunction? ED medicines, if you need them meanwhile, are prescription-only in Australia (healthdirect — ED medicines). healthdirect's other prevention steps are more exercise, losing weight and eating healthy food: can exercise improve ED? and can losing weight cure ED?

The short answer

There is no set date: improvement has been measured from a day to a year after quitting, and older men, heavier smokers and men with severe ED gain less. Whether quitting can reverse ED altogether: can quitting smoking reverse erectile dysfunction? Why smoking harms erections: does smoking cause erectile dysfunction? Other habits: our guide to lifestyle and erectile dysfunction.