Up in Smoke: Study busts myths about the health of hookah

Submitted by schmooze on Sunday, 9 November 200810 Comments

Of all the crazy things people smoke, hookah may seem like a mild activity in comparison. Many college students who would never touch a cigarette are avid hookah smokers because they do not perceive this pastime as unhealthy.
However, if you fall into that category, you might want to reconsider. According to a 2005 World Health Organization (WHO) study, hookah is more dangerous than people tend to believe. Here are three hookah myths that the study has busted:

Hookah isn’t toxic.

“I think the smoke is diluted so it doesn’t really do anything, it’s certainly better than smoking a cigarette,” says Ellen Dasilva, a sophomore at Brown University. According to the WHO, “even after it has been passed through the water, the smoke produced by a water pipe contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals.”

Hookah isn’t addictive.

“You go smoke hookah every once in a while, it’s not a habit like smoking cigarettes,” says Emily Levin, a Northwestern University sophomore.
However, smoking hookah can become habitual. “While the water does absorb some of the nicotine, water pipe smokers can be exposed to a sufficient dose of this drug to cause addiction,” the WHO study reports.

Hookah involves less inhaling.

“We used to go [to a hookah bar] in high school with my friends. It’s a fun social activity, and I don’t think it’s that bad for you. We don’t inhale a lot,” Levin says.
Different factors contribute to how much smoke is actually being inhaled by a hookah smoker, including the number of people sharing one hookah and the time of the smoking session. Nevertheless, the WHO found that because hookah-smoking sessions last from about 20-80 minutes, a water pipe smoker may inhale as much smoke in one session as a cigarette smoker would inhale from smoking 100 or more cigarettes.
Bottom line: There’s no evidence that smoking hookah is less dangerous than other methods of smoking tobacco. According to the WHO study, more research needs to be done given hookah’s increasing popularity.

Don’t think you’re cool enough to hang with the hookah crowd? Here are some terms you can drop at the hookah bar to show you know your stuff:

Shisha - Persian term for a hookah pipe, literally meaning “glass.” In the U.S., shisha can also mean the flavored tobacco used in hookah.

Tobamel - A sweet substance often containing tobacco that is smoked in a hookah pipe.

Darbuka - A goblet-shaped drum resembling a bongo. A darbuka is typically used to create a relaxing rhythm for a hookah session.

Hubbly-Bubbly - A slang term, used by the younger crowd in the region surrounding the Red Sea, referring to the practice of adding marijuana to the tobacco in a hookah.

Text by: Marisa Rosenbaum

10 Comments »

Kris Smoke Deter said:

I never heard of smoking hookah. Where can this product be bought ?

- 2 March 2009 at 2:35 pm

Tyler said:

Ite first off you can buy one at a hookah bar in a lot of college campus towns and cities. and those terms are retarded… shisha is the flavored tobacco that is smoked in the pipe

- 9 April 2009 at 4:48 pm

Tyler said:

oh and at hedge shops, actually hedge shops mostly, ive never been to a hookah bar myself i just assume that you would be able to there

- 9 April 2009 at 4:49 pm

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- 15 June 2009 at 7:22 pm

Hookah said:

I do know that there is less tar in hookah because the shisha is baked at 300 degrees vs. however high cigarettes burn at…

- 30 June 2009 at 7:40 pm

Michelle Rodriguez said:

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- 26 September 2009 at 3:46 am

Aaron said:

As a very regular hookah smoker for over 2 years I can tell you through FIRST HAND experience that smoking a hookah is positively safer than cigarettes. First off the coals used to smoke with do not burn hotter that 350 degrees F where as cigarettes burn at around 900 to 1200 degrees F. So if you have done some actual research you would know that tar is created when plant material is burned at an excess of 80 degrees F. When you smoke hookah the sugars, molasses, and honey on the tobacco is evaporated. It has absolutely nothing to do with tobacco thats why you can buy shisha that has no tobacco in it. So please next time do some real research before post things you know nothing about. Thanks

- 21 October 2009 at 4:58 pm

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- 2 July 2010 at 10:58 pm