Hookah
Main content start
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