What is Hookah?

Hookah is a water pipe used to smoke Shisha, a flavored tobacco, by indirectly heating the tobacco with charcoal. The smoke is filtered through a bowl of water and then drawn through a rubber hose to a mouthpiece. Hookah dates back over 500 years to the Middle East but is recently becoming popular in the United States. There are currently more than 300 hookah establishments in the United States, most near college campuses.

What's the risk?

Many people believe hookah is safe because they are smoking it through cooled water. However, the exact opposite is true. Hookah contains 36 times more tar, 1.7 times more nicotine and 8.4 times more carbon monoxide than cigarettes. Hookah is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.

Hookah smokers have the same risk of disease that cigarette smokers have including: oral, lung, stomach and esophagus cancer, and reduced lung function. Sharing the hookah pipe also increases the risk of transmitting tuberculosis, herpes, hepatitis or other illnesses.

Can people get addicted?

People can get addicted to hookah, just like they can other tobacco products. There is a misconception that hookah does not contain nicotine, however Hookah does contain nicotine. Hookah smokers also have a higher risk of becoming cigarette smokers. One study showed that 6 out of 10 hookah smokers who wanted to quit had tried and failed in the past year. For more information on Quitting Resources click here.

Hookah Bars and Cafes

The rise in people smoking hookah in the United States may be a result of marketing hookah cafes and bars to college-aged students with locations of these establishments on or near college campuses. College students, especially those under the age of 21, see hookah bars as a place to socialize. Hookah bars are found in almost every state, and even here in Iowa.

Quick Facts

• The Journal of Pediatrics confirmed that as many as 23 percent of young people in North America have smoked hookah.
• Smoking herbal shisha is not healthier, just like smoking "natural" cigarettes is not healthier.
• A 45 to 60 minutes hookah session exposes a smoker to approximately the same amount of tar and nicotine as one pack of cigarettes.
• Secondhand smoke from a hookah is very dangerous, you can also experience smoke from the heating source used to burn the tobacco.
• Smoking hookah can cause infertility in men.
• Hookah smokers are five times more likely than nonsmokers to have gum disease.
• A person inhales 100-200 more smoke (by volume) during a typical one hour Hookah smoking session than when smoking one cigarette.
• The quick-lighting charcoal used by many hookah smokers may be an additional hazard, because it produces greater levels of carbon monoxide and other dangerous substances than standard charcoal.

For more information or to schedule a Hookah presentation please click here or call 515.309.9507.

Sources:

An Emerging Deadly Trend: Water pipe Tobacco Use, The American Lung Association
The Great Hookah Hoax, Virginia Commonwealth University