As an ex-smoker, of almost 7, 8 months (Yes, and I've been smoke free for six now), I did some research on hookah due to a debate with my boyfriend.
He claims he had been given information on it, and how harmless it supposedly is, by his friend whom he smokes it with off and on. However, little does he know, smoking hookah can be 100 to 200 times worse than smoking a single cigarette.
"There is a myth that hookah smoking is safer than smoking cigarettes because the hookah smoke is filtered through water before it is inhaled. But recent studies have found that hookah smokers actually inhale more nicotine than do cigarette smokers because of the massive volume of smoke they inhale." -- (
http://www.rdoc.org.uk/smoking_hookah_risks.html)
According to health studies, it's worse.
"Although many believe that the water in the hookah filters out all the "bad stuff" in the tobacco smoke, this isn't true. 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." -- (
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hookah/AN01265)
And on top of that, hookah smokers are more prone to oral diseases (cancer, etc) than a regular smoker.
So when you think about picking up that hookah pipe, think on it twice. A cigarette will do less damage, so what's your poison? Or even more, if you're against cigarettes and smoking, and think hookah is safe, now you have a little insight. It's just as bad, if not. Worse.
-Abbie
