Hookah Smoke- As bad as cigs for you?

[Ice]

Like many other university students, I recently discovered the activity of smoking hookah. I find it flavorful and enjoyable. It also gives a nice legal buzz. I was curious to know the health effects though. I've been given conflicting information.

http://media.www.mustangdaily.net/media/storage/paper860/news/2006/12/09/LettersToTheEditor/Hookah.Not.As.Bad.As.Article.Implied-2529591.shtml?sourcedomain=www.mustangdaily.net&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

http://www.roycastle.org/atyc/news_01_10_07_06.php

[Banquo's Ghost]

The hookah simply adds moisture to the tobacco smoke for a more pleasant taste. The smoke still gets to your lungs - unless you smoke it like a pipe, simply tasting the smoke and not inhaling it.

You will see that your first link is a letter of opinion. The author seems to think that shisha tobacco is hugely different from other tobaccos - and this assumes you use it. It's not. The second link provides some experimental research.

The simple fact is that hookah smoking is still tobacco smoking and carries the same risks. It is probably slightly less harmful than cigar smoking and a fair bit less than cigarette smoking simply because you breathe in less over a session, and the sessions are fewer.

As I noted, if you taste the smoke rather than inhale, you will expose yourself to even less risk.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Me and my friends go for a hookah every now and then. From what i know, there are no ill effects you wouldn't get with normally inhaling the smoke from something that burns.

[Baeksen]

As a student in medicine I have access to articles about medicine. And what I found was that shisha/hookah may be linked to life threatening conditions, including pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, and pregnancy related complications. But not enough studies have been conducted on this.

WHO stated in the report "Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Health Effects, Research Needs and Recommended Actions by Regulators" in 2005 that shisha is now a global health risk, but this report has since been criticized, because it leaves out a lot of studies and it contains a lot of errors.

Conclusion: I will deem that it is linked to health risks, but as Banquo's Ghost says, you do not smoke shisha that often (hopefully). Also, if it does contain less tar it is better than normal smoke, but still the list of unhealthy substances in smoke is long and tar is only one of them.

By the way I also enjoy a shisha from time to time :-)

And as a bonus a study concluded that to smoke hookah alone is the first step to dependency, therefore newer smoke alone.

Cheers
Baeksen

[Crazed Rabbit]

The smoke still gets to your lungs - unless you smoke it like a pipe, simply tasting the smoke and not inhaling it.

So, when smoking a pipe, you're not actually inhaling?

Or is it just a matter of not inhaling it no matter what you smoke?

CR

[IrishArmenian]

One doesn't inhale when smoking a pipe.

[Csargo]

So, when smoking a pipe, you're not actually inhaling?

Or is it just a matter of not inhaling it no matter what you smoke?

CR

Usually you don't inhale when smoking a pipe, but I'm sure you do inhale small amounts everytime.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Ah, thanks for the enlightenment. Not having smoked anything, I was unaware of the difference.

CR

[Hosakawa Tito]

Substituting cancer of the mouth in lieu of cancer of the lungs isn't much of a bargain.

[Crazed Rabbit]

True, but what are the rates of mouth cancer for pipe smokers? It seems you'd smoke a pipe less often than you'd smoke a cigarette, where the smoke passes through your mouth anyway.

Seems less dangerous than chewing tabacco.

CR

[IrishArmenian]

Hosakawa, Cigarettes can give cancer to both the lungs and mouth and sometimes throat.
Dip (Chewing Tobacco) is a mouth only deal but I've seen it turn tongues/teeth black and it is considered by me (smoker) vile.

[Banquo's Ghost]

Ah, thanks for the enlightenment. Not having smoked anything, I was unaware of the difference.

It is generally considered that pipe smoking is slightly less harmful than cigarette smoking - largely because pipe smokers don't inhale into the lungs (although of course, they breathe the clouds of tobacco smoke around them) and that the pipe stem is quite efficient at filtering out much of the harmful tar. If you have ever seen someone clean their pipe, and realise that cigarette smokers take that stuff right into their lungs, it's a great way to put yourself off smoking.

Hosa is of course right - pipe smokers can get oral cancer too. They can also suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning - increasing the cardiac related problems associated with smoking - as CO is not filtered by the pipe stem.

As I understand it, chewing tobacco is the nastiest form of imbibing nicotine. Very elevated risks of mouth, stomach and oesophageal cancer as the carcinogens are in direct contact with your tissues for an extended period. Often people chew continuously too, so exposure times are greatly extended and addiction intensified.

Quite apart from being one of the most disgusting habits one can imagine.

[macsen rufus]

Or is it just a matter of not inhaling it no matter what you smoke?


It all depends on whether you want to get elected as President, I hear :laugh4:

[BDC]

Kind of different to cigarette smoking though, not like you light up a shisha pipe every time you walk outside.

Try a water pipe with absinthe in it though. It's rather comical.