Article About Effects Of Hookah(not Bs)

[whiplasher]

http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/5/1/19

great article about Hookah, Testing CEA levels in people who only smoke hookah. Results basically were the CEA levels in hookah smokers were less than that of cig smokers, and not too much higher than non-smokers. Also states a study done in the late 60's which concluded that the water filters about 30 percent. Check it out, must read.

[thehelios]

Wow, extremely informative.

So I do about 3 bowls at most a week with about 15-25 grams in those bowls. The "light" smokers did 1-4 bowls A DAY with at most 120 grams! Even then, their carcinogenic levels were no where those of normal cigarette smokers and only slightly higher of non smokers.

[SixPackSunday]

good read... thanks for a study thats finally legit

[fineout]

i love the fact that when theres a study done with ACTUAL NUMBERS and real facts, it definately points that hookah is better than cigarettes, and it was very objectively studied, or so it seems, being that it didnt overly state dangers or benefits. great read.

[Giant Ninja Robot]

That absolutely was a must read. So essentially people who smoke in the light to medium range (20min - 2 hrs daily) according to the study's numbers have about the same (slightly higher) levels of potentially cancer causing CEAs than non-smokers, only when you smoke more than 2 hrs a day do the numbers become a concern and even that gives you almost only half of the CEA levels found in cigarette smokers. Amazing. There are so many amazing facts in this article, though if you're like me and are instantly put into a coma by wordy documents you may need some caffeine to stay awake.

READ THIS NOW IT GIVES US OUR FIRST "HAH WE TOLD YOU SO"!

I also found it interesting that the local pakistani smokers they used in the experiment used a traditional "chilam" bowl in which, I feel this is important, the coals directly touch the shisha. Raising the question, how much safer could we be using the modern methods and hookahs we use?

Do take into account that this study pertains to hookah-exclusive smokers not those who also smoke cigs, bidis, pipes, or cigars.

The study alludes to the distinct possibility that second hand hookah smoke is much less dangerous than second hand cig smoke.

Also they reference another study's findings that about 90% of light smokers (3 pipes or less) and 50% of moderate smokers (3-6 pipes a week) are considered non-dependant on hookah i.e. not addicted

Also the fact that they have some info on the solid particles found in hookah smoke in comparison to cigarette smoke is amazing.

STOP READING THIS POST AND READ THE DAMN ARTICLE!!!!

edit - also good to point out to you naysayers or those who are too lazy to read the article, it claims that the authors and scientists heading up this study are documented as free from the influence of outside companies/resources and are essentially in it for the science not any money or other compensation. Edited August 17, 2008 by giant ninja robot

[Raziel510]

Wow. Finally a study that gets it right! It's sad though that this experiment, which actually conducts the tests using real world situations and variables, will likely not receive nearly the amount of attention as other "experiments" which yield obsurd results or who have no real data a numbers to back up their claims. Well, at the very least I feel a little bit better knowing about this test and the results. After reading so many articles stating that hookah smoke is incredibly bad for you I was begining to believe the hype. Thanks to the OP for posting up this article, everybody should read it NOW.

[wongxiao]

That absolutely was a must read. So essentially people who smoke in the light to medium range (20min - 2 hrs daily) according to the study's numbers have about the same (slightly higher) levels of potentially cancer causing CEAs than non-smokers, only when you smoke more than 2 hrs a day do the numbers become a concern and even that gives you almost only half of the CEA levels found in cigarette smokers.

Which is pretty remarkable. I generally smoke 1 to 3 hours each time, but I don't get anywhere near daily. Maybe 3 to 4 times a week, when I'm really smoking like crazy. Lately its been 2 to 3 times a month. When I'm smoking regularly (ie, what I call "heavy"), I land somewhere between what these researchers are calling "light" and "moderate." Very interesting.

I also found it interesting that the local pakistani smokers they used in the experiment used a traditional "chilam" bowl in which, I feel this is important, the coals directly touch the shisha. Raising the question, how much safer could we be using the modern methods and hookahs we use?

Indeed. Also, the traditional bowl holds significantly more shisha than a typical bowl on a modern pipe, from what I understand.



I only skimmed the article, but I will be doing a much more thorough reading in the near future. Finally, some objectivity surrounding research on hookah. Not to be johny raincloud or anything, but I think it's worthwhile to remind ourselves--pretty much anything other than atmosphere in the lungs is quite unhealthy. Responsible use is what it's all about--that means don't use cheap tobacco, don't use quicklites, and know when to call it a day! Simple as that...

[sss8789]

great find... they actually use good variables to study the change, unlike other articles that I think see smoke and say "there is smoke so it can kill you!"

[Apoc Genesis]

I LOVE IT!!!

Non-biased science FTW!

[ryno]

Finally! A good article that was actually researched correctly and has numbers! Its nice to know this information and finally find an unbiased hookah study

[MrMoodz]

Thanks whiplasher for posting this article. It definitely made my day!! I like how they did a break down of light, medium, and heavy smokers. I'm also wondering if the numbers would be different depending on the hookah/coals/tobacco. I imagine in Pakistan they use more traditional or non-washed tobacco as well... Definitely interesting.

[Codename067]

Nice Read! Nice post!

[mattarios2]

great article, took me a lil while to read, but great stuff. I appreciate the article, thanks man.

[Bulldog_916]

"Furthermore, in the case of the fashionable shisha (using flavoured molasses tobacco with glycerol), a great portion of the calculated "tar" is expected to be made up of glycerol which has proved not "adversely alter the smoke chemistry or biological effects normally associated with exposure to mainstream cigarette smoke" [57] as in the harm reduction Eclipse cigarette (about 40%)."

This statement kind of concerns me. It may be the glycerin in most shisha tobaccos that is the most harmful element to it all. It's basically saying that the glycerol substance creates as much tar as normal cigarettes do. That's the way I translate it. I cant completely tell what it says by the words alone.

[hookah hippie]

Nice article informative trying to figure out if I am a heavy or medium smoker. Hmm.

[mattarios2]

something doesn't make sense here, and trust me I am not being bias because I am a hookah smoker.

Based on the numbers they provide in the article:

Non smoker CEA ranges from 1.64 to 3.06

Light smokers : .568 to 1.552

Medium smokers: 1.37 to 3.67

Heavy smokers: 2.03 to 8.19

Now what doesn't make sense to me is how can cea levels of a light smoker (.568,1.552) be lower than a non smoker (1.64,3.06) that just doesnt make sense to me. Can anyone explain why and how this could happen in an experiment?

Thanks guys

[whiplasher]

Hmm im not sure. Perhaps a mistype, because later in the conclusion they state that the CEA levels of a light smoker are slightly higher. Thats my guess...

[Stuie]

Great find! Bookmarked!

[Giant Ninja Robot]

How would one track the source to make sure the study is legit? I just want to make absolutely sure since this article is of such magnitude.....

I'll volunteer to send some e-mails and whatnot to make sure if someone can gimme a way to contact these people. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to give a member of a respectable and legit hookah forum some answers.

And if we can get in contact with them what can we ask to clarify things, such as the concern Mattarios has? Anything else or is that it?

[Tikhman]

something doesn't make sense here, and trust me I am not being bias because I am a hookah smoker.

Based on the numbers they provide in the article:

Non smoker CEA ranges from 1.64 to 3.06

Light smokers : .568 to 1.552

Medium smokers: 1.37 to 3.67

Heavy smokers: 2.03 to 8.19

Now what doesn't make sense to me is how can cea levels of a light smoker (.568,1.552) be lower than a non smoker (1.64,3.06) that just doesnt make sense to me. Can anyone explain why and how this could happen in an experiment?

Thanks guys

my guess is thats because pakistan doesn't have the best air quality and because such small numbers were used. They only had 4 people in the light smoker category and there is a lot of variation between the four. They don't show you the range in none-smokers, so its possible that a few of them were in that low range and at the same time, a few people were in the 4+ zone.

At least that would be my best guess. I do with they would give more info about the none-smokers and would have used a slightly larger group.

[Tikhman]

To ninja:

First, look at the institutions where they are from. Second, download the PDF. all of the contact info is there.

[whiplasher]

robot im pretty sure the email of the author is at the top.

[whiplasher]

robot im pretty sure the email of the author is at the top.

[Giant Ninja Robot]

robot im pretty sure the email of the author is at the top.

yeah i ended up seein that im just lazy lol

thanks guys

[mattarios2]

yeah that would be awesome if you would contact them ninja, keep us posted bud.


Thanks