Bbc Article On The Harmful Effects Of Shisha

[Zinite]

Good articles. I definately find those to be of more value than the one generated throught the BBC. However, there were a few problems I had with those studies.

First, it seems to me the hookah setups they were referencing involved placing the coals directly on the shisha. (please correct me if I'm wrong) That being the case, there would be little difference between hookah and cigarette smoking in that both involve burning tobacco directly. It's my understanding that when you smoke shisha, the sugars (i.e. honey, molasses, sucrose, etc.) burn rather than the tobacco since the sugar has a lower cumbustion point than the tobacco. That's why when you smoke shisha, what you're left with is a brittle puck of ultra-try, cooked tobacco rather than ash (like cigarettes).

The other problem I have is with this quote:

The nicotine content of water-pipe tobacco has been reported to be 2% to 4%, in comparison with 1% to 3% for cigarettes.

What kind of tobacco are they using? All the stuff I've ever smoked is 0.5% for unwashed and 0.05% for washed.


The first study made the claim that hookah smoking is "at least as toxic as cigarette smoke." Given the setup and shisha they're using, I'd buy that. But the way most of us smoke is very different and would therefore differ significantly in reference to toxicity.

At the end of the day, smoking anything is not good, and by doing so, we put ourselves at risk.

Please, if anyone sees anything wrong with what I've written, point it out. I like to learn as much as I can about this stuff.

If you're referring to the links I posted, I believe they were using more traditional tobacco, where they place the coals on top of the tobacco with no intermediary.

[Click]

Regardless, I figure I'm gonna die someday.  Might as well have fun and enjoy myself. 

[twoapplesplease]

News flash!smoking is bad for you.Everyone can agree that smoking is bad for your health.
I personally think that driving a automobile on a freeway is more of a danger than smoking hookah.
now if your smoking your hookah while driving on the freeway than your living life on the edge.
Whatever we all no smoking is bad but life is short and far too often its even shorter and we all have lost freinds in accidents and what have you.The point is you could live your life like a saint and be killed by a drunk driver or struck by lightning,you could choke on a pretzel or whatever shit happens so enjoy it while you can.

[hookah hippie]

back to these threads

Oh boy

My 2 cents

Smoking isn't healthy but I like it do it but no it isn't a healthy habit

[gunsNhookah]

To find serum CEA levels in ever/exclusive hookah smokers, i.e. those who smoked only hookah (no cigarettes, bidis, etc.), prepared between 1 and 4 times a day with a quantity of up to 120 g of a tobacco-molasses mixture each (i.e. the tobacco weight equivalent of up to 60 cigarettes of 1 g each) and consumed in 1 to 8 sessions.

I see that they are putting up to 120g to shisha to equal one cig ==== case in point

I smoke out of a vortex bowl, about 17-20g. Takes 5 days of once a day smoking to equal one cig.

And it's strange that they mention "tar" in the exhaled smoke. My breath don't stink. And if I smoke some AF mint, I got minty fresh. There isn't a smell on my clothes or furniture. Someone explain!!!

[ilikemyusername]

imagine that... smoking is bad for me.... fuck it, we're all dead in 2012!

[srawas89]

Look I know that smoking vaporized glycerin/molasses is bad for you...so what? I like smoking my hookah. Like everything that can be bad for you do it in moderation and its all good.

[Zinite]

To find serum CEA levels in ever/exclusive hookah smokers, i.e. those who smoked only hookah (no cigarettes, bidis, etc.), prepared between 1 and 4 times a day with a quantity of up to 120 g of a tobacco-molasses mixture each (i.e. the tobacco weight equivalent of up to 60 cigarettes of 1 g each) and consumed in 1 to 8 sessions.

I see that they are putting up to 120g to shisha to equal one cig ==== case in point

I smoke out of a vortex bowl, about 17-20g. Takes 5 days of once a day smoking to equal one cig.

And it's strange that they mention "tar" in the exhaled smoke. My breath don't stink. And if I smoke some AF mint, I got minty fresh. There isn't a smell on my clothes or furniture. Someone explain!!!

Tar is defined as any particles created from the combustion of matter (tobacco in this case).

[jellywerker]

Smoking is bad, mmmk?

However, it's all about moderation and harm level. Hookah is bad for you, yes. However it causes less harm than other ways of smoking, and for me, the enjoyment factor negates the health effects.

Edit: And by less harm I mean everyone I know who smokes hookah, regardless of how much, has better feelings lungs than the cig smokers. We've had epic bullsh*t sessions comparing them. The cig smokers agree. Edited August 25, 2009 by jellywerker

[digitalhifi]

My 2 cents:

Well knowing full well that tobacco smoke is comprised of among other substances, CO, and knowing how much smoke I exhale during a smoking sessions as compared to the amount I see people exhale while smoking cigarettes...no duh I'm exposed to higher levels of CO. But my question is whether or not it is the CO that is the worst health hazard. Cigarettes leave a horrible stench for pretty much eternity wherever they are smoked...hookah not so much. So at least I know I'm not breathing that. As far as nicotine levels are concerned, hookah certainly does not have the levels in cigarettes. I've never seen people have to take, "hookah breaks."

And to finish:

Yes, hookah is bad for me...so is cake. Edited August 25, 2009 by digitalhifi

[Bandito]

Did anyone see anything strange in the very first sentence? "Smoking a shisha pipe is as bad for people as smoking tobacco", maybe i'm confused but i do smoke tobacco out of my "shisha pipe"...

But yes they are referring to cigarettes and while the smoking of any substance is never healthy, i can't see how simple tobacco, flavoring, glycerin and few other ingredients is as harmful as tobacco and 599 other added chemicals, many of which have been proven to cause lung cancer and other cancers

Here is an example of some of the ingredients found in cigarettes, and not found in shisha tobacco..

[Svaals]

Did anyone see anything strange in the very first sentence? "Smoking a shisha pipe is as bad for people as smoking tobacco", maybe i'm confused but i do smoke tobacco out of my "shisha pipe"...

But yes they are referring to cigarettes and while the smoking of any substance is never healthy, i can't see how simple tobacco, flavoring, glycerin and few other ingredients is as harmful as tobacco and 599 other added chemicals, many of which have been proven to cause lung cancer and other cancers

Here is an example of some of the ingredients found in cigarettes, and not found in shisha tobacco..

In my instrumental analysis class we'll be quantifying the amount of arsenic in several tobacco products. I'm going to ask they guy if I can bring in some AF shisha in to test. I'll have to post the results.

[Vampy6997]

WARNING! Using your computer causes cancer, leads you to be sedentary which increases risk of over 900 health issues which can further contribute to thousands of other health risks. However, walking too, creates risks, as does watching TV, working out, sleeping, and breathing. The only way to avoid health risks is to die. However, death comes with a very bad disease called decomposition. You're fucked whether you're alive or dead. Smoke a hookah and laugh at everyone else who hasn't figured this out.

+1

[Sonthert]

He's concerned and he wants to inform us about it...thats good. Double threads? There's a merge function around here for mods somewhere...easy enough.

[Sonthert]

People who smoke shisha, or herbal tobacco, can suffer from high carbon monoxide levels, its research revealed.

That hits the BS detector at around 87. Usually when a study says "can" they're trying to scare you. Look at the data for cigarettes. Cigarettes increase mortality rate. Cigarettes increase risks for cancer. No "can", "may" or "might" involved.

Stuie: You think the BBC is bad? You should try the US media...they're every bit as bad.

[liquidglass]

imagine that... smoking is bad for me.... fuck it, we're all dead in 2012!

WARNING! Using your computer causes cancer, leads you to be sedentary which increases risk of over 900 health issues which can further contribute to thousands of other health risks. However, walking too, creates risks, as does watching TV, working out, sleeping, and breathing. The only way to avoid health risks is to die. However, death comes with a very bad disease called decomposition. You're fucked whether you're alive or dead. Smoke a hookah and laugh at everyone else who hasn't figured this out.

+1

+1 x Infinity

[ih303]

So why is it that cigarettes stink so bad and leave that stench on everything while hookah smoke does not?

[Balthazar]

So why is it that cigarettes stink so bad and leave that stench on everything while hookah smoke does not?

Okay, I'm not a fan of these quasi-studies myself, but this kind of statement is just dumb. You reckon the smell is a precise indicator of harm? You don't fight quasi-science with "grandma-science".

"If cigarettes are worse than water, how come people never drown from cigarettes?"

[LondonShisha]

So how can we measure our CO exposure? It sounds like it's the main culprit, and i'm wondering if there is some equipment thats not too expensive that can give us our exposure at any time.

This may sound a bit stupid, but could one of these be used to detect a high CO output in exhaled breath? It seems to have sensitivity of 30ppm (parts per million) and the BBC article said Shisha smokers had between 4-70ppm. So would this work?

http://www.safelincs.co.uk/Carbon-Monoxide...-9CO5/?fdb=true

[l0aded]

am i reading this right?

"The carbon monoxide concentration in water-pipe smoke was significantly greater for smaller water-pipe size and for commercial as opposed to domestic charcoal.19"

bigger/taller hookah pipes give you less CO emissions?

--------
regarding nicotine
"According to another report, urinary cotinine concentrations were similar for water-pipe smokers (median of 2 pipes per day) and for cigarette smokers (median of 30 cigarettes per day)"
so in a urine sample 1 session a day is about 15 cigarettes if the correlation follows the urine sample. but keep in mind different shisha and different burn method probably affects it Edited August 25, 2009 by l0aded

[RingsMaster]

heres my look at it, i used to smoke cigs for a while now i cant even stand the smell, let alone the taste. when i smoke hookah i dont get smokers cough i feel better than when i did smoke cigs there no cravings for nicotine. now anything thats foreign that enters the lungs is bad for you im not saying its good but i believe greatly that it isnt as bad as cigs.

[the_cool]

Have any of you guys seen that video on youtube where some guy filters the smoke through water of 400 ciggarettes? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DbFBu_I_lA

If im not mistaken, thats basically a hookah, and after 400 ciggs you can see what happens to water. All these studies say hookah is x times worse than ciggs, but i have yet to see the water change colour due to anything other than shisha juice dripping down. Someone should smoke constantly out of the same water in the vase (with a phunnel to reduce juice dripping) and see if anything happens to the water. My mates dont change the water that often and the water is usually just coloured from the juice.

Now I know im talking about tar and this article is about CO. Hopefully in a years time, if i graduate, i may be able to access a CO meter (usually used to monitor people who smoke). If i ever get my hands on one, ill defo do some experiments!

[white_rabbit]

i love reading these articles about how bad hookah is...

i will not trust any study concerning hookahs... they absolutly cannot include everything involved. and as far as CO if it was so bad we would be dead already

[Kapten Kanel]

This is just pathetic, can´t we have at least one remotely legit research about this?
These numbers means nothing, biased WHO-crap all over again.

Smoking is defineatly not "good" for you (depends on how you "see" things, i say life quality > life quantity) but how bad is smoking shisha really?
We don´t know, i cant recall one properly done reseach about hookah smoking (modern shisha, not sure about tombeik/no foil tobacco).

When i google the swedish word for hookah, one of the first things that shows up are WHO:s "One hookah session = 100 ciggs". Seriously...

[Sonthert]

Here's a fun study that says its not that dangerous. This study involves people who smoke 50% tobacco/50% molasses mixtures and not cigarettes....

Hookah Tobacco Study

It has real things like statistics, data, hypotheses and all the stuff that makes science actually something worth reading...