# Why do I get aroused when I smoke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2001, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-aroused-when-i-smoke/59932 "2001-03-29T05:10:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-aroused-when-i-smoke/59932/1 "2001-03-29T05:10:26Z")
I normally don’t smoke cigarettes. When I do smoke, it’s usually at a bar, and then only rarely. _Very_ rarely I will smoke just for a cheap high (yes, I smoke so rarely – probably once every 2 or 3 months – that I still get a good head rush). Now, when I first light up I almost always become mildly aroused. Things begin to, um, stir after only a puff or two, and it usually passes by the time I finish the cigarette. But why? I don’t think it’s the nicotene, as it doesn’t seem to act that quickly (5-10 seconds). Furthermore, I experienced the same phenomenon when I first began smoking cigars (which I don’t inhale, naturally). Is it the thrill of trying something new and somewhat forbidden? Is my oral fixation just that strong (I doubt it, since pen caps don’t turn me on). Have I somehow sexualized smoking in my subconscious? I’d appreciate your thoughts on the matter. – Jer ---
**Author:** ![Abe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@Abe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-aroused-when-i-smoke/59932/2 "2001-03-29T06:04:13Z")
smoking is supposed to be a very rapid drug fix. I remember reading that within 12 seconds of inhaling the first puff of a cigarette, narcotics have already made their way into your bloodstream. What’s curious is that long-term smoking supposedly has a sexually inhibiting effect, brought about by the rigidifying of blood vessels (therefore making it more difficult for men to achieve erections, and for women to achieve orgasm). Lacking other information, I would guess that you just really enjoy the effect tobacco drugs have on you! Said that, I have heard a number of people express views similar to your own, and I am very curious to know why a cigarette has such an effect on some men, and how the effect compares to that experienced by women. ---
**Author:** ![G.Nome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c89c15/32.png) [@G.Nome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.Nome)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-aroused-when-i-smoke/59932/3 "2001-03-30T12:57:06Z")
There’s a word - viricapnity: the aura of virile sexuality presumed to emanate from a man who is smoking. You could be auto-auratic. It must be an old word. Who would dare suggest it was true today? Who would dare even to update it and find a substitute for the cigarettes? All right, me: “Viricocainity” - the aura of virile sexuality presumed to emanate from a man who snorts cocaine. It’s not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-aroused-when-i-smoke/59932/4 "2001-03-30T13:33:30Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember reading that within 12 seconds of inhaling the first puff of a cigarette, narcotics have already made their way into your bloodstream. Narcotics? [Narcotics](http://members.aol.com/sarahhisted/narcotics.htm) are not present in cigarettes… Cigarettes contain many nasty substances which make them as/ or more difficult to quit than narcotics, but they do not contain narcotics… Nicotine is a strong vasoconstrictor, which _may_ have something to do with the OP. Perhaps (IANAD) the vasoconstricting effects of the nicotine cause loss of blood flow through your capillaries, causing an overflow of blood to flow through your, _ahem_, other parts… just a WAG…