I thought I would post about an article on Hookah smoking. I noticed that among the younger generation hookah smoking has really picked up over the last few years. Friends who I know and who are very much so against smoking cigarettes have given in to the peer pressure and are smoking using a Hookah (there are even Hookah bars opening up in many cities due to its increasing popularity).
A hookah also known as a narghile, shisa or goza, is a water pipe. It originally comes from the Middle East and Asia, and it is used to smoke tobacco. Today the tobacco is often flavoured and it can be purchased at the local convenience store. The actual hookah has a bowl at the top where you put the tobacco and the heating source, then the pipe connects to a bowl and dips into the base which is filled to water. A hose is attached to it which allows the user to inhale. Inhaling causes a pressure difference and forces the air past the heating source, heating the tobacco and giving off the smoke. The smoke passes through the water and is then inhaled by the user.
The common myth is that the water filters all the bad stuff, however "according to a World Health Organization advisory, a typical one-hour session of hookah smoking exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. Even after passing through water, tobacco smoke still contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens). Hookah smoking also delivers significant levels of nicotine � the addictive substance in tobacco." Evidently, smoking from a hookah is just as dangerous as using cigarettes.
Members, do you or do you know others in your life who engage in this activity? I encourage you to bring up the topic and discuss this information with them. If you have younger kids, bring up the topic with them just as you would discuss the harmful effects of smoking.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
Luciana, Bilingual Health Educator
Source: Rosenow, E. The Mayo Health clinic. Hookah smoking: Is it safer than cigarettes? Available online: <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hookah/AN01265> December 22, 2009.
