Before you think that hookah is safe, use the following to make your own informed decisions:
Even after smoke passes through hookah water it contains high levels of toxic compounds including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals (Tobacco Control, 2004; Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 1993).
Using a waterpipe hookah is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking (Journal of Pediatrics, 2005).
Secondhand smoke from waterpipes is a mixture of tobacco smoke in addition to smoke from the fuel and therefore poses a serious risk for non-smokers (Journal of Tobacco Control, 2004).
Sharing a waterpipe hookah poses a serious risk of the transmission of communicable diseases, including tuberculosis and hepatitis (Journal of Pediatrics, 2005).
A typical one-hour long waterpipe hookah session involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette (World Health Organization, 2005).
Hookah smoke produces nearly 100 times more "tar" than cigarette smoke, for each gram of the respective tobaccos (Journal of Food &Chemical Toxicology, 2005).
Hookah users ingest about 100 times more lead from hookah smoke than from a cigarette (City of Berkley Tobacco Prevention Program, 2004).
Hookah smoke is capable of causing breakage of chromosomes, and damaging DNA, thereby causing mutations or cancer (City of Berkley Tobacco Prevention Program, 2004).
Chemicals found in hookah smoke vs. cigarette smoke
Chemical | Yield from 1g hookah tobacco | Yield from cigarette smoke, 1g tobacco | Multiple of average cigarette smoke value |
"Tar" mg | 802 | Range: 1-27 Average: 11.2 | 100-fold |
Nicotine, mg | 2.96 | Range: 0.1-2 Average: 0.77 | 4-fold |
Carbon Monoxide, CO mg | 143 | Range: 1-22 Average: 12.6 | 11-fold |
Chrysene (tumor initiator) | 0.112 | 0.004-0.041 | 5-fold |
** Journal of Food and Toxicology, 2005
More Hookah Facts
- Hookah contains nicotine, which is highly addictive
- 91% of weekly hookah smokers said they could not quit
- Hookah smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals
- Men can become unfertile due to tobacco smoke
- Pregnant women who smoke hookah are at high risk for low-birth-weight babies
- The risk of gum disease is 5 times higher than that of non-smokers
- Hookah smoke contains significantly high levels of arsenic, lead and nickel
- Hookah contains 15 times more carbon monoxide than cigarettes
- A single puff of hookah smoke lasts about twice as long as a cigarette puff
- Sharing the mouthpiece can lead to diseases such as tuberculosis, mono, and hepatitis
Sources:
The BACCHUS Network
Food and Chemical Toxicology
Journal of Pakistan Medical Association
World Health Organization
Hookah Resources