Scientist says penises getting smaller due to pollution

Jamaican men are being urged to pay attention to the results of a frightening discovery by a scientist who said that penis sizes are shrinking as a result of pollution.

Shanna Swan, a professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, wrote a startling piece in her recently published book, Count Down.

In the book, Swan claimed that human penises are shrinking and genitals are malfunctioning due to rising pollution levels. She said, too, that men's sperm count and viable sperm worldwide have been plummeting. She said that sperm levels have dropped 60 per cent since 1973, and if things continue at the current rate, most men could be impotent by 2045.

Asked to comment on Swan's assessment, sexologist Dr Sidney McGill told THE WEEKEND STAR that pollution is harmful to the human body as it affects the circulatory system, which is especially important for males to have a proper erection.

"Air pollution as well as the heap of chemical stuff in the food affects the cardiovascular system, which deals with blood flow, and the erected penis is largely dependent on blood flow," McGill said.

He said that if pollution continues unchecked, "males won't be seeing hard penises". Preliminary research has shown that the use of chemicals in everyday products and lifestyle practices disrupts hormonal balances. According to McGill, hormonal imbalance leads to lower sperm counts and lower sexual stamina.

"Chemicals in the atmosphere and what we eat, if it is not healthy, affects fertility in men because once the body is not being cared for properly, libido is also affected," he said. "Factors such as testosterone levels, the age of the man, and that sort of thing, can also affect a penis erection."

Researchers in China found that pollutants affect libido. The research showed that people who were exposed to bisphenol, an industrial product used to make plastic, complained of having lower sex drives.

"Pollution and environmental degradation will damage us as well as our sexual functions if we don't take heed," McGill told THE WEEKEND STAR.

He is urging persons to start taking better care for the environment and to make informed health decisions in an attempt to save their own existence.

"People need to take environmental concerns more seriously because it affects us. If the environment is sorted out and people try to have better health practices, they are more likely to have better sex drive and live longer," McGill said.