According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), hookah smoking originates from Asia. It involves smoking tobacco flavored with fruits, honey or molasses, through a water pipe. It is usually a social event and involves the sharing of the pipe by all present. The flavor appeals to youths, making it a rising fad in the younger generation and a threat to tobacco control. There is a general misconception that it is a less harmful way of smoking tobacco. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and ACS have all issued stern warnings that hookah smoking delivers more toxins than the average cigarette to the lungs.
Nicotine Addiction
Hookah delivers the same or more nicotine than ordinary cigarettes, according to the ACS, exposing the unsuspecting occasional smoker to nicotine addiction. This makes it more difficult to stop and fuels the continuation of hookah smoking as a habit, rather than just another "social event."
Cancers
The CDC warns that hookah smoking could deliver 200 to 400 times as much smoke as a typical cigarette. This exposes the hookah smoker to more toxic chemicals such as carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing agents called carcinogens. Cancers linked to hookah smoking include oral, lung and bladder cancer. The passage of the smoke through water does not appear to diminish the concentration of these toxic chemicals. Other cancers generally linked to tobacco smoke include leukemia, cervical cancer, uterine cancer, esophageal, stomach and laryngeal cancer.
Infectious Disease
The threat of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, human papilloma virus (HPV), herpes, hepatitis and aspergillosis, not seen in other tobacco users, are markedly increased in hookah smokers as they share the water pipe. Helicobacter, known to cause stomach ulcers, can also be spread by this social habit.
Heart Disease
Hookah tobacco and smoke, according to the CDC, contain toxins that are known to cause narrowing and clogging of the arteries, causing peripheral artery disease (PAD), coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, tobacco smoking causes heart attack and stroke.
Problems in Pregnancy and Newborns
The CDC warns that babies born to women who smoke hookah have lower birth weights and are at increased risk of respiratory diseases. Tobacco smoke, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, is linked to complications in pregnancy including bleeding episodes, miscarriages, prematurity and ectopic pregnancy.
Other Consequences
Respiratory problems such as asthma and chronic bronchitis that are common in cigarette smokers are also seen in hookah smokers along with worsening of pre-existing respiratory conditions. According to the CDC, second-hand smoke is a bigger issue in hookah smoking because of the added charcoal smoke for burning the tobacco. Thus, the health consequences of second-hand tobacco, including ear and sinus infections in children, sudden infant death syndrome in babies, and the whole range of cancers and diseases of the heart and blood vessels, are seen in hookah smoking.
References
- American Cancer Society: Child and Teen Tobacco Use
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Smoking and tobacco Use: Hookahs
- National Cancer Institute: NCI Cancer Bulletin
- American Heart Association: Tobacco and Cardiovascular Disease
- American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs in Pregnancy
