A study on hookah smoke

[Lakemonster]

it doesnt get much more scientific than this....
[url="http://webfea-lb.fea.aub.edu.lb/aerosol/downloads/proof.pdf"]http://webfea-lb.fea.aub.edu.lb/aerosol/do...loads/proof.pdf[/url]
You'll need Adobe Acrobat.....
 

[ZAP]

Mmmm too much jargon for me.  What does it say about the effects/harms in conclusion?

[Highpockets]

Wow, appears that there is a crapload of tar in one hookah session
(over 40 times the highest tar cigarette), a great deal of nicotine,
carbon monoxide etc. In other words, its pretty damn bad for you, if
this study is correct.

[mushrat]

Interesting...Just did a quick glance...
this is based on 171 3 second puffs in a session with 17 seconds between puffs....
Ill have to print this up and look at it.
But its really only going to tell us something most of us already know. Smoking is bad for you. :-)
I'd be interest in seeing the same chemical analysis of breathing the air in any major city worldwide.

[r_money]

wow, i was under the impression that ma'assel had very little tar content; i even read the label:(

[Soup]

They keep publishing these articles saying how much more harmful hookah smoking is yet you don't see people dropping off like flies from it.  I've seen tons of these papers and, to date, not a single one has made me want to quit.

[zzzzzT]

Interesting study, they came to some interesting conclusions.

The PAH which is equal to 10 sessions totalling 1710 puffs was measured
against 1 cigarette. They give a range for what a normal cigarette fall
in, but only give the mean for an unsmoked cigarette.

They found that phenantherene (tar) is over  30 higher in
cigarette smoke. The number here is very surprizing. I wonder if this
is because they so called wash hookah tobacco, and the effect that the
water has on the smoke.

They give two other carcinogens. Since there is no mean given for what
the normal level is in a cigarette it seems hard to make an
assumption.  They say it is higher in cigarette smoke and make it
sound like it is much higher. If you put the number somewhere in the
middle the hookah smoke is not that much higher. I imagine the
flavorings add to this also.

One thing they found which does not come as a surprize it that Carbon
monoxide levels are much higher almost triple in hookah smoke because
of the coals.  I bet they would be even higher if they would of
used a screen.

I hope I read this right. It looks like hookah smoke is much lower in
tar, and comparable to cigarette smoke with other aspects of the smoke.
Like anything food, alchohol, soda etc. if you smoke in moderation you
should be fine and enjoy a happy life.

[mushrat]

remember..its still tobacco.

[ech0]

 im new to the hookah i have had mine for about 2 or 3 months.
how much is moderation how often do u all smoke  onece aday less?

[SMOKE~N~BUBBLZ]

Me and my brother (Who is doing his PhD in Mech Eng) went through this report. Now as Mushrat said "Its still Tobacco". What the report fails to do is effectivly set up a accurate smoking enviroment to everyday use. When the tobacco burns at higher tempretures it releases a lot more nasties. I dont know about you but i move my coal around so it simmers and does not burn. In teh experiment they leave the coal on and have no way of monitoring if its burning. The second point is the machine they have riged up is also a oump to draw the smoke.....now as any good hookah smoker knows you should take medium puffs and not too many power puffs or its sure to burn.....again inconsistent with daily use....
 
Now i know smoking is bad but what i have understood from this report is that it is not representative of normal daily use.
 

[HAKOOH]

Hmmm... Very interesting. Whta do you guys consider moderate? Once a day everyday or like once a week?

[HookahDuck]

I think of myself as a "moderate" smoker.

One bowl every 5 or 6 days.

[ioannisds]

Hey, I thought I was the moderate one!  I smoke maybe 3 or 4 bowls a week, not more than once on any given day.

[HookahDuck]

actually, I read through the findings again.



It says that the nicotine found in ma'assel smoke is equivilent to
several cigarretes, and the tar is around 3 times greater than 1
ciggarette.(This is in a 171 puff smoke session, mind you). HOWEVER, it
goes onto say later that the tar found in ma'assel smoke is far less
potent and harmful than the tar found in cigarretes, because of the
temperature at which it burns.


So.. it's prettys close to what I've always thought. It isnt great for you, but quite a bit less harmful than cigarretes.

[Ratman12304]

This might be a stupid question, but is there a difference between "ma'assel" and "shisha"? Or are they the same thing

[HookahDuck]

ma'assel is the fruit we smoke in our hookahs.



Ma'assel is commonly referred to shisha. However, shisha is technically
another name for a Narghile(Hookah). Meaning the pipe itself

[hooka_honey]

For those concerned about tar, HookaH HookaH Tobacco has ZERO tar, .5 percent nicotine. In large quantities, NOTHING that you inhale is healthy for you, tar or no tar. The key here is moderation. Smoking hookah tobacco, especially with no tar, in moderation is not nearly as harmful as cigarette smoking or chewing tobacco. 

[yashman19]

[quote name='hooka_honey']For those concerned about tar, HookaH HookaH Tobacco
has ZERO tar, .5 percent nicotine. In large quantities, NOTHING that
you inhale is healthy for you, tar or no tar. The key here is
moderation. Smoking hookah tobacco, especially with no tar, in
moderation is not nearly as harmful as cigarette smoking or chewing
tobacco. [/quote]

Just FYI, nearly EVERY brand of ma'assel you will find claims to have
0% tar and .5% nicotine...so you can't really use this as an argument.

[nidal105]

I posted this on the forum a few months back but it didn't get much attention...it is pretty interesting though, but anyone who smokes hookah thinking its harmless is naive anyway. It doesn't take a study to find out

[[LB]]

my box of al fakher says 0% tar, 0.5 nicotine. Im kind of afraid that
means there is still tar, but just so little they rounded it or some
sh*t- somebody get to the bottom of this im going to sleep.

[ech0]

my buddy said that he smokes for the taste and he said he gets a buss when he gets a good hit.
i have goten this buzz before but lof late i m not geting it.
is it  cus i have smoked for a while?
do u  vets /rookies still get this buzz?
on a sighty diffrent note what else  do u smoke  like oranges apples ect"whole fruit"
another thing do u all  put your pipe on the floor?
i have sickle cell a blood disorder i talked to my doc about smoking
it  she of corse said in moderation its cool  but some times
i have  a burining i the thoat im thinking its becuase of the
harsh ness of the smoke.
but my fealings are sickle cell sucks  and hinders me  so i
should enjoy life as much as i can  and i enjoy the pipe so i
continue to  smoke it.
 i would  like to hear what u all think about  my post.
thanks

[HookahDuck]

Sorry to hear about your disorder. A friend of mine is suffering from it as well.

I am supprised that your doctor didnt reccommend that you not smoke, but since they didnt...

Some brands/flavors have more a buzz than others. El Nahkla generally
has a particularly high buzz(but tastes like ass, IMO). Al Amir is a
rather low buzz, but tastes great and delivers a ton of smoke. Although
I did get a pretty nice mellow buzz from Al Amir 2 apple last night.
Try many different brands and flavors to see what matches your tastes.

It is propper Hookah ettique to place your hookah on the ground, and
have people sit around it. Although, sometimes this is not possible,
and a low table(like a coffee table), will work well.

Im not sure what you meant by "whole fruit"?


The burning you experianced is from the hookah being harsh. A common
problem among rookie smokers. Do a search for harshness or harsh, and
read people's suggestions. Its all about setting the bowl up propperly,
your tin foil procedure, and coal management. I used to think that some
hookahs were just "more harsh" than others. This is hardly the case.


Hope I helped!

[Sariél]

[quote name='ech0'] i would  like to hear what u all think about  my post.
thanks  [/quote]

Pretty much unreadable. Unless you're posting from your phone, please
take the time to spell out your words and use puntuation accaisionally.
If you are posting from your phone, please don't.


...well, you DID ask!....

[Guest LondonShisha]

Aside from Tar and Nicotine, I read a report once that suggested that hookahs not cleaned properly and metals inhaled from foil burning were the main reason that smoking could be bad for you. Apparently, you could be breathing in toxic fumes this way. We really need some [b]unbiased[/b] scientific studies done on this.

[MR Bubble]

I just need someone in the "know" to explain why the manufacturers print "Tar: 0%." It seems to me that even with the massell made here, they would have to tell the truth. I guess they may be pulling a fast one by listing the tar content in the un-smoked form. Makes you wonder.
MR Bubble