Hookah Size Vs Co (primary Research)

[UGAHookah]

Here is the primary research I was looking for and that I earlier promised to some people on here. It seems that hookah size does conclusively affect CO levels.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?D...Pubmed_RVDocSum

Heres a quote from the study

"The highest fractions were obtained with small size hookah and increase in size of hookah (i.e., volume of air in water base, fire bowl volume, pipe length, etc.) reduced the CO fraction significantly (P < 0.001). "

You can read the Abstract for an overview of the study. In conclusion they found that the factors listed above in large hookahs decrease the poisonous CO.

[mobbed]

well maybe i should get a 5' tall hookah then...
not!

[everydayshisha]

I think the parenthesis confused you. It the exact opposite. Read this:

Mean carbon monoxide fractions of hookah smoke, using domestic charcoal were 0.38 +/- 0.07 (large hookah; unfiltered); 1.40 +/- 0.43 (small hookah; unfiltered); 0.34 +/- 0.06 (large hookah; filtered); 1.36 +/- 0.35 (small hookah; filtered) and 0.41 +/- 0.08 (cigarette smoke). The highest fractions were obtained with small size hookah and increase in size of hookah reduced the CO fraction significantly (P < 0.001).



this is the full paragraph:
Mean carbon monoxide fractions (% by volume) of hookah smoke, using domestic charcoal were 0.38 +/- 0.07 (large hookah; unfiltered); 1.40 +/- 0.43 (small hookah; unfiltered); 0.34 +/- 0.06 (large hookah; filtered); 1.36 +/- 0.35 (small hookah; filtered) and 0.41 +/- 0.08 (cigarette smoke). The highest fractions were obtained with small size hookah and increase in size of hookah (i.e., volume of air in water base, fire bowl volume, pipe length, etc.) reduced the CO fraction significantly (P < 0.001).

EDIT: I wanted to add that CO (carbon monoxide) does not have any longterm health effects. The only effect of breathing in ammounts of CO like those produced in a hookah is completely safe and can only cause tireness and in the most extreeme conditions and not to everyone, disorrientation. This is becuase when the CO fractions are higher you breath less oxyge and some of your organs start to "get tired". Once you stop smoking and move to a place with fresh air you will be fine.
0.2 fractions is the natural concentration of Co in air. i dont think 3.6 fractions is too much. In some places like airports it is higher than that.

The main health effect of hookah is tar and carginogens, on which there where no researches that can proove anything. IMHO and based on my knowledge tar and carcinogens are filtered by a great percentage in water.


Cheers Edited December 9, 2007 by everydayshisha

[BrotherBuford]

Just out of curiosity one day I held a household CO detector/alarm over the shisha bowl for a minute and I also blew smoke directly onto it. The display didn't register anything over zero. HOWEVER, that might not mean much as the human body absorbs CO readily so there may have been CO in the smoke I inhaled and not in what I exhaled, and CO is also heavier than air so it could have sunk down the shaft and not be present over the bowl. Edited December 9, 2007 by BrotherBuford