KUALA LUMPUR - HALIM (not his real name), 28, and his wife Mariam (not her real name), 25, have been trying to have a baby for two years.
When questioned by a doctor, Mariam said that Halim, an executive at a multinational company, had recently not been able to hold an erection and had blamed it on a heavy workload.
Halim told the doctor that he had also noticed a reduction in spontaneous morning erections and that the erections were mostly weak.
He told the doctor that he smoked 12 cigarettes a day and sometimes more if he was stressed.
On examination, the doctor found his wife free of fertility problems while Halim had a poor sperm profile, with low sperm count and a number of abnormal and weak sperm.
Halim, realising that smoking had led to his sexual problems, dropped the habit and saw a drastic improvement in his sex life.
His sperm profile and sex drive improved, leading to Mariam conceiving a few months later.