Tell Me What's Wrong With All This Info, Please...

[Chreees]

I need you guys to point out all the wrong things in this compilation of articles that a hookah's worse than cigarettes (Trying to prove to a friend hookah is not worse):

A new study from The Journal of Adolescent Health found a puff of hookah smoke is 100 times more dangerous than a puff of cigarette smoke.

Hookah smokers are subject to the same negative health effects as cigarette smokers: lung cancer, heart and respiratory disease and other deadly illnesses.

Hookah smoking among young adults promotes lifelong nicotine addiction and disease, consequences that last far beyond the New Orleans college experience.

Hookah smoke can contain four times more nicotine than cigarettes and five times the number of cancer causing agents.

On average, 45 - 60 minutes of hookah smoking is the equivalent of chain smoking 15 cigarettes. Hookah tobacco also contains 36 times more tar, 15 times more carbon monoxide and 70 percent more nicotine than cigarette tobacco.

Passing off hookah smoking as a positive college past time is irresponsible and deadly. Tobacco use kills more people each year than AIDS, alcohol, motor vehicle accidents, murders, illegal drugs and suicide combined.

The fact of the matter is that tobacco is dangerous to your health no matter how it's smoked, hookahs included. So don't believe the hype if someone tells you it is cool or safe to smoke hookah pipes.



It is often quite misunderstood as being harmless and not-addicting. However, scientific research has proven otherwise as it is clearly established that hookah causes cancer and is, in fact, more harmful to one’s health than cigarettes. Just this week, the WHO (World Health Organization) published a seven-page report claiming that hookah is just as hazardous to one’s health if not more hazardous than smoking cigarettes.

Hookah, in fact, actually does contain nicotine and one sitting of hookah is more hazardous to one’s cardiovascular system than cigarettes. Cardiovascular disease is a serious threat to hookah smokers. The carbon monoxide (CO) intake is also at a dangerous level when smoking hookah as it holds negative effects for those even exposed to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke of hookah contains nicotine (which has shown to show addiction even through second-hand smoke), TAR, and even worse, heavy metals such as cobalt, arsenic, and lead! These metals destroy a person’s body! These findings were published in a scientific journal that was peer-reviewed and can be found on PubMed!

Hookah has shown to cause serious diseases. Accepted scientific studies show that hookah causes an increase in the frequency of chromosomal abberations and sister chromatids. This implies that the chance of our children having mutations is increased many-fold. This is true for the man as well as the woman since a child receives twenty-three chromosomes from each parent. Therefore, this one fact alone should scare us from even being exposed to second-hand smoke of hookah and risking the health of our children!

In rats, hookah has shown an increase in hyperkeratosis and degeneration. Moreover, a study in the Journal of Periodontology found that gum disease is five times more likely to occur with hookah smokers. Other scientifically accepted journals have shown than hookah is linked with atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, decreased pulmonary function, various other cardiovascular diseases, TUBERCULOSIS, eczema, aspergillosis (through contamination), and postextraction alveolitis (of the teeth).

On top of all the above, hookah also causes cancer! In a recent study, eighty-eight percent of those people with cancer in India were at one-time hookah smokers. The risk for lung cancer is significantly increased with hookah. A study in Pediatrics concluded that hookah is at-least the same, if not worse for one’s health, cancer-wise, than cigarettes. Professor Thomas Eissenberg of Virginia Commonwealth University concluded through his studies on hookah that “every risk of cigarette smoking is also associated with water pipes (hookah).” Edited October 23, 2009 by INCUBUSRATM

[kvtaco17]

"On top of all the above, hookah also causes cancer! In a recent study, eighty-eight percent of those people with cancer in India were at one-time hookah smokers. The risk for lung cancer is significantly increased with hookah. A study in Pediatrics concluded that hookah is at-least the same, if not worse for one’s health, cancer-wise, than cigarettes. Professor Thomas Eissenberg of Virginia Commonwealth University concluded through his studies on hookah that “every risk of cigarette smoking is also associated with water pipes (hookah).”

This statement is kinda bogus... hookah is a cultural part of India and saying 88% of cancer patients in India were at one time hookah smokers is like saying 88% of cancer patients in America were at one time cigarette smokers... it's a scare tactic used to frighten people into believing what you're saying. Honestly hookah like any smoking is bad for you... now their claims of testing on rats seem bogus also... I can only imagine a scenario like the pic in my avatar lol...!

[Zinite]

http://www.jnrbm.com/content/5/1/17
http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/5/1/19

Here's the problem with these studies: they don't describe how they did the test. It takes someone who knows about hookah to set one up properly. If some random scientist goes in and tries to set it up without any experience, he's going to burn the crap out of the shisha. In a properly set up hookah, there is no combustion. When you smoke a cigarette, you are combusting the chemicals (upon completion, the chemicals are not physically there). When I'm done smoking hookah, all the tobacco is still there, just dry.

Of course hookah smoking is harmful to your health. But, to claim that each puff is equivalent to 100 cigarettes is FUCKING RETARDED. Volume is not a proper comparison.

THIS JUST IN: Each day the average person inhales 5000 cigarettes worth of air.

Cigarettes make your teeth yellow, your breath smell bad, and your lungs week. I've been smoking hookah every day for a year+, and I have none of these symptoms.

[thevoiceofzeke]

http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/5/1/19

Pretty much all you need. Take it from someone who started a multiple page argument on this very subject, haha.

[K1024]

I need you guys to point out all the wrong things in this compilation of articles that a hookah's worse than cigarettes (Trying to prove to a friend hookah is not worse):

A new study from The Journal of Adolescent Health found a puff of hookah smoke is 100 times more dangerous than a puff of cigarette smoke.
this is not a new study, its the wame thing the world health orginization found a while ago...and their study was bogus. they didnt measure anything scientifically except for volume.

Hookah smokers are subject to the same negative health effects as cigarette smokers: lung cancer, heart and respiratory disease and other deadly illnesses.
probably true, though if you read this : http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/5/1/19 they actually did a chemical breakdown, and because hookah doesnt burn the tobacco a lot of carcinogens.

Hookah smoking among young adults promotes lifelong nicotine addiction and disease, consequences that last far beyond the New Orleans college experience.
i smoke at least a hookah everyday, sometimes 2. i have never been addicted to it, and go on vacations and stuff without my hookah and have no signs of withdrawal.

Hookah smoke can contain four times more nicotine than cigarettes and five times the number of cancer causing agents.
maybe, but i dont know anyone who smokes cigarettes who gets buzzed off of hookah.

On average, 45 - 60 minutes of hookah smoking is the equivalent of chain smoking 15 cigarettes. Hookah tobacco also contains 36 times more tar, 15 times more carbon monoxide and 70 percent more nicotine than cigarette tobacco.
i would like to see the study that found these numbers...not a news article that published them the actual scientific report.

Passing off hookah smoking as a positive college past time is irresponsible and deadly. Tobacco use kills more people each year than AIDS, alcohol, motor vehicle accidents, murders, illegal drugs and suicide combined.
absolutely true, you are in fact still smoking something, and that something is tobacco. nevermind that alot of home fires are caused by people smoking a cig and then passing out without putting it out properly...imagine falling asleep and accidently knocking a coal onto the floor...could cause a house fire.

The fact of the matter is that tobacco is dangerous to your health no matter how it's smoked, hookahs included. So don't believe the hype if someone tells you it is cool or safe to smoke hookah pipes.
yes, but it is your life to live. and certainly dont believe any hype from groups like who or the journal of adolescent health, i know the who uses scare tactics and poor research for all of the "studies" on this subject.


It is often quite misunderstood as being harmless and not-addicting. However, scientific research has proven otherwise as it is clearly established that hookah causes cancer and is, in fact, more harmful to one’s health than cigarettes. Just this week, the WHO (World Health Organization) published a seven-page report claiming that hookah is just as hazardous to one’s health if not more hazardous than smoking cigarettes.
where is this report? if it is the one im thinking of, it was a 7 page report on how the volume of smoke smoked in a hookah is 100 times more than a single cigarette. also there has never been a single only hookah smoking cancer patient, only people who smoked hookah and something else. well for smoking caused cancers anyways.

Hookah, in fact, actually does contain nicotine and one sitting of hookah is more hazardous to one’s cardiovascular system than cigarettes. Cardiovascular disease is a serious threat to hookah smokers. The carbon monoxide (CO) intake is also at a dangerous level when smoking hookah as it holds negative effects for those even exposed to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke of hookah contains nicotine (which has shown to show addiction even through second-hand smoke), TAR, and even worse, heavy metals such as cobalt, arsenic, and lead! These metals destroy a person’s body! These findings were published in a scientific journal that was peer-reviewed and can be found on PubMed!
it does contain nicotine, its says so on the box. carbon monoxide is bad, but not in the long run. basically it stops oxygen from entering your bloodstream, then eventually gets filtered out. yes there is tar and heavy metals, http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/5/1/19 shows the levels, which i believe was much lower than a single cigarette if i remember right.

Hookah has shown to cause serious diseases. Accepted scientific studies show that hookah causes an increase in the frequency of chromosomal abberations and sister chromatids. This implies that the chance of our children having mutations is increased many-fold. This is true for the man as well as the woman since a child receives twenty-three chromosomes from each parent. Therefore, this one fact alone should scare us from even being exposed to second-hand smoke of hookah and risking the health of our children!
literally everything causes this.

In rats, hookah has shown an increase in hyperkeratosis and degeneration. Moreover, a study in the Journal of Periodontology found that gum disease is five times more likely to occur with hookah smokers. Other scientifically accepted journals have shown than hookah is linked with atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, decreased pulmonary function, various other cardiovascular diseases, TUBERCULOSIS, eczema, aspergillosis (through contamination), and postextraction alveolitis (of the teeth).
probably, do you have links for this?

On top of all the above, hookah also causes cancer! In a recent study, eighty-eight percent of those people with cancer in India were at one-time hookah smokers. The risk for lung cancer is significantly increased with hookah. A study in Pediatrics concluded that hookah is at-least the same, if not worse for one’s health, cancer-wise, than cigarettes. Professor Thomas Eissenberg of Virginia Commonwealth University concluded through his studies on hookah that “every risk of cigarette smoking is also associated with water pipes (hookah).”
thats funny, because the article i read on this subject said that all of those people also smoked cigarettes or nht, and most of them smoked more cigs than they did hookah.

hookah is bad for you...how bad is hard to determine. mostly because so much "research" is just scare tactics.

edit: this is a good video to see how much tar is in one hookah. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsc4r3I2Pgc Edited October 23, 2009 by K1024

[Sonthert]

That article is just a joke.

It never addresses the issue that tobacco related diseases started to go up alarmingly in the Middle East when Western Cigarettes were introduced. That could be from the mechanical curing process or the way that cigarettes are produced.

Also, the study they refer to regarding heavy metals showed heavy metals in the ng/L range. Lead content was the most serious (in terms of content) threat of the heavy metals they studied. Based on OSHA and established LD50s, the lead in hookah would constitute a 50% lethal dose in something over 700 years. The beryllium and other heavy metals studied needed far longer periods to begin to stack up to a lethal risk.