Hookah

Hookah, often promoted as being safer than cigarette smoking, has no scientific evidence to support this claim.

What is Hookah?

• A hookah is a water pipe used to smoke flavored tobacco
• Heated with charcoal, the smoke passes through water in the hookah before inhaled from a mouthpiece
• Typically smoked in groups, the mouthpiece is passed from person-to-person
• A hookah session typically lasts about 1 hour

The facts about Hookah:

• Gram for gram, Hookah smoke contains more tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide than cigarette smoke
• Besides increasing your risk of cancer, the nicotine in Hookah smoke can cause yellow teeth, wrinkles, and erectile dysfunction
• Secondhand smoke from Hookah poses a risk for nonsmokers
• An hour of Hookah smoking delivers as much carbon monoxide to the user as a pack of cigarettes
• Transmission of many communicable diseases includes hepatitis, tuberculosis and meningitis from the hookah mouthpiece
• Irritation caused by the mouthpiece may give hookah users an even higher risk of cancers in the mouth than seen in cigarette smokers

References:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Hookahs fact sheet
• World Health Organization: WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation