Is Hookah Smoke Worse Than Cigarettes?

[Raziel510]

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/...P608180360.html

http://www.thatsfit.com/2007/10/31/which-i...-or-cigarettes/ <-- This one seems heavily biased...

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/87463.php

So i was doing a little google searching and came across a couple of articles about the health effects of smoking hookah. Some of the numbers that these articles came up with really shocked me. The "thatsfit" article seemed to have some really scewed numbers, but even if the numbers were halfed its still pretty astonishing. I really only smoke around once a week, but these articles definitely gave me something to think about. What are your guy's thoughts?

[boulderkid303]

Use the search and you will see that this has been asked many many times.

[gaia.plateau]

Use the search and you will see that this has been asked many many times.

Is this really helpful?

[Ooph]

I do not think there is significant research done, with Hookah's to prove this idea.

[boulderkid303]

Use the search and you will see that this has been asked many many times.

Is this really helpful?

Ya actually it is....Im letting him know of a tool he can use to look at these questions before hand. What is wrong with that?

[Cybersist]

I just wrote a paper on this, and I can say that the amounts of nicotine in cigarettes is on average 4 times as much as hookah tobacco. And thats with the stronger brands such as Tangiers and Layalina. And most of these studies do not take into account that not everyone smokes hookah like a cigarette, inhaling the smoke into the lungs. Sometimes you smoke it for the taste and do not inhale. I know I don't inhale all the time.

The WHO tests are also not properly burning the tobacco. Too much heat and too many puffs.

[Raziel510]

Use the search and you will see that this has been asked many many times.

Oops, sorry about that. Just did a search and I can see it's been talked about a lot.

[Raziel510]

I just wrote a paper on this, and I can say that the amounts of nicotine in cigarettes is on average 4 times as much as hookah tobacco. And thats with the stronger brands such as Tangiers and Layalina. And most of these studies do not take into account that not everyone smokes hookah like a cigarette, inhaling the smoke into the lungs. Sometimes you smoke it for the taste and do not inhale. I know I don't inhale all the time.

The WHO tests are also not properly burning the tobacco. Too much heat and too many puffs.

That's what I figured, but I was kinda worried because I found so many articles that said otherwise. The one website claiming that one session spent smoking hookah is like smoking anywhere from 40-400 cigarettes really got me wondering...

[MechAnt]

There is no definitive evidence to prove hookah is better or worse for you than cigarettes. Either way, smoking anything is bad for you and people have to be aware of that fact.

[Cybersist]

There is no definitive evidence to prove hookah is better or worse for you than cigarettes. Either way, smoking anything is bad for you and people have to be aware of that fact.

agreed

[OBY]

Ok people are a little confused.... The world health Organization said one hour session will produce the amount of smoke 200 cigarettes produce. It never said that Hookahs are worse than cigarettes... just said it produces about the same as 200 of the death sticks.

Thats what I got out of it. How many of you smoke several sessions a day for years? prob several of you... now if someone smoked 600 cigarettes a day for years... They would be in bad shape.

I just had a blood test that measured all the chemicals in my body and everything was in the normal range except I had a little allergies which in normal range is 0.0 to 0.30 I had 0.34.... Thats the only thing I was abnormal with.... I would think if something was as detrimental as smoking 200 and more cigarettes a day it would mess up more stuff in my body.

I think I will create some sort of device that will test the smoke of each.... Maybe run the smoke through some filters and see what produces the most discoloration in the filters.

[joseph*]

Ok people are a little confused.... The world health Organization said one hour session will produce the amount of smoke 200 cigarettes produce. It never said that Hookahs are worse than cigarettes... just said it produces about the same as 200 of the death sticks.

Thats what I got out of it. How many of you smoke several sessions a day for years? prob several of you... now if someone smoked 600 cigarettes a day for years... They would be in bad shape.

I just had a blood test that measured all the chemicals in my body and everything was in the normal range except I had a little allergies which in normal range is 0.0 to 0.30 I had 0.34.... Thats the only thing I was abnormal with.... I would think if something was as detrimental as smoking 200 and more cigarettes a day it would mess up more stuff in my body.

I think I will create some sort of device that will test the smoke of each.... Maybe run the smoke through some filters and see what produces the most discoloration in the filters.

Discoloration will tell you nothing. It will not tell you the amounts of carcinogens such as nitrousamines present in the smoke.

[OBY]

Ok point proven....

Well when I was experimenting with making shisha last week I noticed that if you don't use Glycerin it's extremely hard to get the shisha to smoke. I tried these combinations.....

Tobacco and molasses
Tobacco and corn syrup
Tobacco and Honey
Tobacco and vegetable oil
Tobacco corn syrup and glycerin

The only one that had results even close to calling a good smoke cloud was the last one. So the glycerin when heated makes the smoke... IMO the rest adds flavor. Now we need to look at glycerin. Glycerin is used in tons of products that are consumed. Skin Softeners to suppositories to sweeteners to lip balm to stuff even in oil.

I know I know... smoking anything is bad for you. What about the smog and terrible air in cities?

Cigarettes have so many additives its crazy.... Mix that with direct heat and I would think it is deadlier in smaller amounts.

Hookahs are burned with indirect heat... runs through a long stem.... through water back through a hose and finally into your system. Along the whole way the heavier particles of the smoke gets deposited on the down stem.... in the water... get stuck on the sides of the hoses and whats left is the lighter most likely cleaner smoke.... Whether you consume more smoke or not.... the smoke is cleaner.... once you taste the burning taste thats when you are getting the carcinogens... before that it's flavor and vaporized glycerin which I have found to be a very non lethal substance.....


Ok I pulled all of that out of my ass.... made sense to me..... I could prob convince a few people I am right but untill some unbiased tests are done... the world may never know....

Tee Heee

[amnite]

I do not think there is significant research done, with Hookah's to prove this idea.

I just wrote a paper on this, and I can say that the amounts of nicotine in cigarettes is on average 4 times as much as hookah tobacco. And thats with the stronger brands such as Tangiers and Layalina. And most of these studies do not take into account that not everyone smokes hookah like a cigarette, inhaling the smoke into the lungs. Sometimes you smoke it for the taste and do not inhale. I know I don't inhale all the time.

The WHO tests are also not properly burning the tobacco. Too much heat and too many puffs.

There is no definitive evidence to prove hookah is better or worse for you than cigarettes. Either way, smoking anything is bad for you and people have to be aware of that fact.

Ok people are a little confused.... The world health Organization said one hour session will produce the amount of smoke 200 cigarettes produce. It never said that Hookahs are worse than cigarettes... just said it produces about the same as 200 of the death sticks.

Thats what I got out of it. How many of you smoke several sessions a day for years? prob several of you... now if someone smoked 600 cigarettes a day for years... They would be in bad shape.

I just had a blood test that measured all the chemicals in my body and everything was in the normal range except I had a little allergies which in normal range is 0.0 to 0.30 I had 0.34.... Thats the only thing I was abnormal with.... I would think if something was as detrimental as smoking 200 and more cigarettes a day it would mess up more stuff in my body.

I think I will create some sort of device that will test the smoke of each.... Maybe run the smoke through some filters and see what produces the most discoloration in the filters.

I agree with these people, in hookah smoking your Heating the tobacco Not burning... your Heating at 100 degrees... Cigarettes your burn tobacco at 700 degrees... Now if you did science back in school you would know that Heat plays a role and has an effect on nearly any substance/chemical...

It has been said in the past Many times if they could lower the temperature of the burning of tobacco cigarettes then cigarettes would be safer... they even tested that burning below certain temperature reduces the amount of carcinogens.. On top of that a hookah filters out the smoke plus cools it down!

Its the reason why hookah isnt as addictive as cigarettes, the nicotine is nicotine but not the same nicotine as cigarettes.. A hookah can be addictive just like saying (someone is addicted to there playstation, football...) But then again everyones different.

As for the WHO organisation they use studys that have used these so called "smoking machines" in the past, many scientists argue that these smoking machines can be unrealistic. It has also been said that the study in to hookah smoking that was used by the WHO organisation had used a smoking machine and burned the Hookah tobacco at 700 degrees... As for the media the WHO organisation has got a high reputation and nearly all the articles on to hookah smoking refference from the WHO organisation (reason for 1 hookah = 100 cigs), so technically theres hasnt been much research in to hookahs.

Recently there has been an experiment by official members of the Tobacco Control that claims,

"1 Cigarette = 3 (unshared) Hookahs (regarding Ultra Fine Particles concentration and for a reference volume of 500 ml)

As for CO (Carbon Monoxide), we have: 1.79 mg for a 1000 ml hookah (machine) puff and 1.06 mg for a 45 ml cigarette puff. If we do the same calculation, then, for a common reference volume of 500 ml, a cigarette actually delivers 1.06 x (500/45)=1.06 x 11.1=11.76 mg of CO. For the same volume, a hookah actually delivers 1.79 x (500/1000)= 0.89 mg. Noting that one machine-smoked cigarette produces about 500 ml, that is 11 puffs of 45 ml, we therefore conclude that 1 cigarette equals 11.76/0.89= 13.21 hookah

1 Cigarette = 13 (unshared) Hookahs (regarding Carbon Monoxide yields and for a reference volume of 500 ml)"

Source: http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/...t/16/6/390?etoc

I am not saying this research is 100% correct but obvoisly give it time as research is still going in to hookah smoking.

Remember smoke is smoke and anything other than oxygen is bad for you... Edited December 5, 2007 by amnite

[Bulldog_916]

Remember smoke is smoke and anything other than oxygen is bad for you...

You know what's weird? Oxygen is technically a poison. It causes the oxidation of our skin and bones which leads directly to aging. Sure it's a very slow process, but over time oxygen kills us. EVERYTHING will eventually kill us. Carbohydrates will kill us. Milk will kill us. Air will kill us. Contact with dogs and cats will kill us. Our own freakin genes will kill us. It's just a question of what will kill you more quickly. Will hookah smoking make that happen? No one, not even the WHO knows for sure.

[Luke69]

Also i have read somewhere that studies can be slightly biased due to the fact that hookah is becoming so much more popular in the west, especially with young people, that doctors may be trying to sway society to believing hookah smoke is so bad for you. If ya know what i mean. I also might not have read that somewhere and just completely made it up.

[camelflage]

gotta die of something..

[nightkast_boy]

i saw an expirement online and they took to clear plastic cups and blew the hookah smoke into one glass
and the cigerette smoke into another glass the hookah smoke cleared up and was clear again the cigerette smoke's glass was a light yellow but this doesnt prove anything

[ZenSilk]

here...
How about this?

Cigarettes have 300+ different chemicals OTHER THAN nocitine inside of them. Hookah tobacco has nicotine, tobacco, glycerine, flavoring. All pretty natural, nothing like arsenic in cigarettes.

With hookah tobacco, the tobacco itself is not burned. Therefore the carcinogens found from burning tobacco are not there (not entirely gone, but much less than cigarettes). The glycerine/honey/molasses is what causes the puffy plumes. So in a way you are moreso smoking Sugar.

Cigarette smoke is very hot and harsh going into your mouth, throat, and lungs. Hookah smoke is cooler and alot less volatile naturally. Therefore you don't get your tissue burned.

Cigarettes are filtered with a porous solid, Hookahs are filtered with water. Water naturally dissolves alot of stuff, and at a molecular level, or even juts a microscopic level, those little molecules will dissolve quite a bit, making the smoke cleaner. This is why you change your hookah water, all of the stuff is dissolved into the water, and water molecules can only retain so much.

When people say that you inhale much mroe smoke that cigarettes, they are only semi-right. You do inhale more SMOKE, but not TOBACCO SMOKE. So, virtually, in a way you are moreso vaporizing than actually burning + smoking.


If you don;t believe me... Smoke your hookah. If you have never puffed a ciggie before, try to. You will choke and choke until about your tenth one. Hookah smoke is cleaner, smoother, and lighter with alot less tar and staining molecules. Sit and smoke your hookah, you will be fine until the 4th or 5th bowl, average.But you still will be choking on the ciggie if you try it again. Just from this, how can people say hookah smoke is worse?? Edited December 6, 2007 by ZenSilk

[MechAnt]

Nice argument!

Even then, there is no way we can say hookah is safer than cigarettes. The first time I smoked, I didn't cough at all, guess it's the running/jogging in the smog of Los Angeles) but there was an urge to, no doubt. Suppressing it isn't very difficult at all. Hookah definitely has smoother smoke and, I think, has the body of the smoke composed of water vapor rather than straight up smoke. Dissipation of hookah smoke is nearly instant while a cloud of cigarette smoke sticks around for quite some time. We just have to wait for a really credible, realistic experiment to answer all these questions.

[ZenSilk]

That's the problem, i have a very strong feeling there will never be one, they will always be biased. Just like the new york times.

[Canon]

i was smoking hookah outside looking at the bridge in arkansas (very pretty with the lights they added) well, my friends are cig smokers and i was introducing them to hookah. one friend couldnt light a cigarette so i offered to light it for her.. man that was a mistake, it tasted like ass, i started it for her but i dont understand how someone could smoke something that tastes that bad..

[ZenSilk]

I love the taste of a good Nat Sherman every once ina while. It's just pure tobacco, so you get pure tobacco flavor.
But i don't inhale...i'm in it solely for the taste.

[Voski]

One thing people are forgetting is that chemicals come off the coals as well. Who knows what or how much is coming off the coals?

[djdriver88]

I read a recent study in the russian paper that said hookah smoking is pretty much on par with cigarette smoking..dont know how true this is, but Ive heard it many times as well.