New Study Finds Tobacco Causes Brain Damage..

[Barnaby]

Check out this article:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=15533

Now, I'm wondering if this is also true for hookah tobacco. Any thoughts?

[smoke eater]

Mass hysteria and witch-hunting season aside, it looks and sounds like a dubious claim at best.

Check out this article:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=15533

Now, I'm wondering if this is also true for hookah tobacco. Any thoughts?

[Stuie]

i don't know but they say the chemical is created while curing the tobacco for cigarettes. As Fast as they pump out cigarettes, I doubt they use natural means to do so. Probably use a chemical or two to speed it up. Thus causing that NNK chemical.

[Barnaby]

New research discovers link between smoking and brain damage New research which suggests a direct link between smoking and brain damage will be published in the July issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry. Researchers, led by Debapriya Ghosh and Dr Anirban Basu from the Indian National Brain Research Center (NBRC), have found that a compound in tobacco provokes white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, leading to severe neurological damage.

The research centers on a compound known as NNK, which is common in tobacco. NNK is a procarinogen, a chemical substance which becomes carcinogenic when it is altered by the metabolic process of the body.

Unlike alcohol or drug abuse NNK does not appear to harm brain cells directly, however, the research team believe it may cause neuroinflamation, a condition which leads to disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis.

"Considering the extreme economical and disease burden of neuroinflammation related disorders, it is extremely important from a medical, social and economic point of view to discover if NNK in tobacco causes neuroinflammation" said Ghosh.

To prove if such a link exists the team conducted two types of tests, one outside of a living host in glass and one in laboratory mice. The team used blot analysis techniques which showed that the introduction of NNK resulted in a clear increase in proinflammatory signaling proteins, proinflammatory effector proteins and other stress related proteins. Increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, which act as molecular messengers between cells, were also detected.

This shows that NNK provokes an exaggerated response from the brain's immune cells, known as microglia. Microglia cells act as 'destroyers' for the brain by attacking damaged or unhealthy cells. However, when provoked by NNK these cells start to attack healthy brain cells rather than the unhealthy cells they are supposed to attack.

"Our findings prove that tobacco compound NNK can activate microglia significantly which subsequently harms the nerve cells," said Basu.

While other harmful side effects of smoking, such as lung disease, usually derive from tar or smoke this research suggests damage is not confined only to smoking. NNK is present in all forms of tobacco and therefore it can also enter the body through chewing.

The study also suggests that second hand smoking may lead to the same neuroinflamation conditions. Concentrations of NNK in tobacco can vary from 20-310 nanograms in cigarettes. However, NNK is also present in the smoke itself, smoke-filled air indoors may contain up to 26 nanograms of NNK. This means that both direct and second-hand smoking can lead to substantial measures of NNK intake.

"This research sheds light on the processes that lead to nerve cell damage in those who smoke cigarettes or consume tobacco products on regular basis," said Ghosh.

Edited June 26, 2009 by Barnaby

[Barnaby]

Per this, we're all fucked

[Charley]

everything causes brain damage. be it smog, smoke, or big macs.

I myself will not worry about this becuase I am exsposed to much more harmful things on a daily basis i can not avoid.

In my area everyone but a few smoke those few seem to hate it so much tho that they want to ruin it for everyone else who enjoys it its been the same through out history on anything that ppl enjoy.

[Arcane]

i r not dain bramaged....

[Vampy6997]

everything causes brain damage. be it smog, smoke, or big macs.

I myself will not worry about this becuase I am exsposed to much more harmful things on a daily basis i can not avoid.

In my area everyone but a few smoke those few seem to hate it so much tho that they want to ruin it for everyone else who enjoys it its been the same through out history on anything that ppl enjoy.

Mad cow disease to all mad cow eaters! lol....yes, many things cause brain damage...not everything, but a lot of things.

malnutrition/not getting enough carbs and/or fat, likely
oxygen deprivation
beef (lol)
breathing in carbon monoxide
breathing in any noxious gas, for the most part
smog/air contaminants
gas, when filling up your tank

There's really not much refuge from these things...they are what they are. I wouldn't say we're more screwed than anyone else in the world. Definitely just a witch hunt.

[The Caterpillar]

I find the brain damage to be enlightening. Ignorance is bliss, surely, and I'm working on ignoring every brain cell that won't shut the hell up and let me sleep.

This is why I smokez uh tun n git retardid a lot LOLOL.

....

[e-tan]

i agree with vampy and charley. EVERYTHING is bad for you. if it doesn't cause cancer, it probably causes brain damage, and if not that, sterilization. I'd rather enjoy something all the time and end up a veg instead of fearing everything and living in a bubble and still ending up a veg.

[Matt-641]

You can't go anywhere or do anything without there being risks all around you. Just going outside is bad for you since our air is so polluted.

So if I'm going to be harmed by things around me, at least I've got my hookah to keep me happy.

[Sonthert]

My father smoked a pipe for over 60 years. Sharp as a tack when he died.

Always be suspicious of epidemiological claims regarding tobacco. That is, if they say "This chemical causes this reaction in the body." Its almost always bullshit. If it were true, they would back it up with clinical data.

[mavsfan31]

I'm still going to smoke regardless if this is true or not (and I don't think it is). I'm only going to live once. Given, I'm not an idiot about things and I'm certainly not careless either.

Out of curiousity, what do you guys think are some health hazards regarding hookah?

[coastlines]

My father smoked a pipe for over 60 years. Sharp as a tack when he died.

Always be suspicious of epidemiological claims regarding tobacco. That is, if they say "This chemical causes this reaction in the body." Its almost always bullshit. If it were true, they would back it up with clinical data.

If Eric isn't brain dead by now we have nothing to worry about. Smoke on! Edited June 27, 2009 by coastlines

[Moefasaaa]

fuck new studies.


fuck old studies.

[Jeff_T]

My father smoked a pipe for over 60 years. Sharp as a tack when he died.

Always be suspicious of epidemiological claims regarding tobacco. That is, if they say "This chemical causes this reaction in the body." Its almost always bullshit. If it were true, they would back it up with clinical data.

Was going to mention something similar. My grandparents smoked for at least 40 years and both lived to be 89, and were just as sharp as ever...

[Sonthert]

I'm still going to smoke regardless if this is true or not (and I don't think it is). I'm only going to live once. Given, I'm not an idiot about things and I'm certainly not careless either.

Out of curiousity, what do you guys think are some health hazards regarding hookah?

Absolutely. Nitrosamines are still a real threat from hookah tobacco.

[AmunRa]

Obviously air is better for anyone than hookah. Hookah is good to you, not for you.

But who wants to live forever? Time to go lite more coals!

[PSU Smoker]

fuck new studies.


fuck old studies.

couldn't have said it better myself Moe

Plus i know tons of older people who smoked since they were like 16 and they're still kicking strong...everything causes brain damage and cancer so we might as well enjoy killing ourselves...who wants to live to be old and decrepit anyway?

Also id like to add...

Only the good die young

[Imsomint]

everything causes brain damage. be it smog, smoke, or big macs.

I myself will not worry about this becuase I am exsposed to much more harmful things on a daily basis i can not avoid.

In my area everyone but a few smoke those few seem to hate it so much tho that they want to ruin it for everyone else who enjoys it its been the same through out history on anything that ppl enjoy.

Echoing this. I personally believe there's too much shit out there that adversely effects us to worry about supposed brain damage cause by a little tobacco. I'm convinced getting on the 60 in Phoenix is a lot more dangerous than a lifetime of smoking. People need to stop worrying and indulge.

[Stuie]

My father smoked a pipe for over 60 years. Sharp as a tack when he died.

Always be suspicious of epidemiological claims regarding tobacco. That is, if they say "This chemical causes this reaction in the body." Its almost always bullshit. If it were true, they would back it up with clinical data.

Same here. My Great Grandfather smoked a pipe since his teens till he died in his late 80s. One of the few in my family to not suffer from Dementia or Alzheimer's.

[mustang_steve]

They are just grasping at straws now that the second hand smoke myth has been pretty much debunked.

People claim the tobacco industry lied for their own agenda....however the anti-smoking organizations have lied for their agendas as well. So treat ANY claim for or against as utter bullshit until it's proven beyond an unreasonable doubt. Emphasis on the word unreasonable...may as well make them prove it to the point that one simply cannot make a exception to it.

[EvansLight]

Great now both my damn vices kill my brain cells. Between Jack and Starbuzz, ill be legally retarded by the time im 30

Eh i never really beleive these damn things. I still hold on to the one fact i heard a long time ago and believe: Average smoking increases your risk of lung cancer by 8%. Standing outside in LA increases your risk by 10%. So thats why El does not ever want to go stand outside in LA, yet smokes a bowl a day

[Sonthert]

Thats some real laudable logic there.

[gunsboy]

If a new study will come out soon saying that hookah smoking causes penal dysfunctions. I will ask all hookah vendors then to carry Viagra, so I can order my 2 kg of shisha with 2 packs of Viagra.

Tobacco smoking has negative health issues. But trust me, if I do not smoke it to relax after a long day of painful work I would get a heart attack or go postal and kill few people around.

To all those f*ckers that keep writing those articles I say this "Hookah smoking prevents murder and heart attacks. UP YOURS".