For people wey dey try get pikin, to stop to dey smoke fit look like the first thing wey dem go do. But wetin if na you no dey smoke by yourself?

World Health Organization (WHO) dey warn say second-hand tobacco smoke fit still affect fertility, so di reproductive risk no dey only for people wey dey use tobacco.

"If you no dey smoke yourself, e no mean say you don free from tobacco smoke exposure," Dr William K Maina of di Tobacco Control Programme for WHO Regional Office for Africa dey warn.

Second-hand smoke na di smoke wey dey come from di burning end of cigarette or any tobacco product and di smoke wey smoker dey breathe out. Na so non-smokers fit breathe these toxic substances without their permission.

According to WHO review, women wey no dey smoke but dem expose to second-hand smoke get about 1.2 times higher risk of infertility.

Studies still show say dem fit get lower chance to conceive for any given month.

But dem never fit define exact level of exposure wey safe.

"Di evidence ... no show any specific threshold or how many cigarettes, hours or days of exposure wey go make reproductive risk disappear," Maina talk.

This one make di places wey people dey spend time important.

WHO dey advise make people avoid tobacco smoke as e fit, especially for closed places like house, workplace and car. For couple wey dey plan pregnancy, Maina talk say to help partner wey dey smoke stop fit protect both of dem from continued exposure.

Di warning come join other evidence wey link smoking directly to infertility.

One systematic review wey cover studies between 2000 and 2026 find say women wey dey smoke now get 40% higher risk of infertility than women wey no dey smoke. Di review still find say women wey don smoke before but stop now get about 25% lower risk of infertility than women wey still dey smoke.

For men, e fit affect semen quality and cause sexual wahala. One review of 44 studies wey involve more than 60,000 men find association between smoking and erectile dysfunction, ejaculation problems, poor sperm motility and abnormal sperm shape.

Smoking still fit affect couples wey dey do fertility treatment. One meta-analysis of 21 studies find say smokers get about 44% lower chance to get pregnancy and 46% lower chance for live birth after assisted reproduction.

Even new products no necessarily good or safe alternative.

Evidence for e-cigarettes and waterpipe still small, but new research dey show say dem fit get reproductive risk. One study wey include more than 4,500 women find say anyone wey don ever use e-cigarettes get about 20% reduction in fecundability — that na di chance to conceive for one menstrual cycle.

For Maina, message clear: tobacco and fertility na something wey concern both people for reproductive health.

"Most important message be: stop to use tobacco as early as you fit, best before you start to try to conceive."

And for non-smokers, to avoid exposure still dey important.

If you no light the cigarette yourself e no mean say you dey avoid the wahala wey e fit cause.