College kids warned about starting hookah habit

[cafedelmar]

Don't know if this has been posted yet...

By Anne Harding Thu Oct 12, 10:33 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Puffing on a water pipe full of flavored tobacco may sound more glamorous than smoking a regular cigarette, but it's probably just as bad for your lungs, if not even more harmful, a Washington, DC researcher warns.

Dr. Christopher Loffredo, director of the Cancer Genetics and Epidemiology Program at Georgetown University Medical Center, has been studying tobacco use in Egypt since 1997. In the past five years, he told Reuters Health, he's seen an increase in the use of hookahs among young people in both the Middle East and the United States.

Loffredo said he had originally thought hookah smoking was a trend limited to big cities like New York, but colleagues at a tobacco conference this July told him hookah use is also on the rise in small college towns in Colorado, Texas, Delaware and the Midwest.

Loffredo has published several studies on hookah use, including a report on how young Egyptian women are picking up the habit, which they see as more socially acceptable and healthier than cigarette smoking. He also found that genetic damage in the mouth tissue of hookah smokers was identical to that seen among cigarette smokers.

Nobody really knows what the risks of hookah smoking are compared to cigarettes, Loffredo noted, but clearly exposure to tobacco in a typical hookah session is substantial.

"The concern is that the session of smoking is very long. There's a social dimension to it. You're sitting with friends, typically," he explained. Sessions can last for up to three hours. "That's a lot of tobacco exposure in that time period."

"We're worried that hookah smokers could become addicted and could either turn to cigarettes or daily use of hookah devices for tobacco," Loffredo added.

Another concern, he noted, is that hookah use may represent a loophole around city and state laws banning smoking in public places.

Much is known about the harmful substances contained in cigarettes, Loffredo said, but there has been virtually no research on the content of tobaccos used in water pipes. "That kind of basic research really needs to be done so we have a better sense of what these health risks might be," he concluded.

[MilqueToast]

...well as long as the DC researcher has no name, and it's only "probably" as harmful... :roll:

[HAHkoo]

i'm sure anybody who smokes anything is aware of the side effects and the consequences

[Johnny_D]

[quote name='HAHkoo']i'm sure anybody who smokes anything is aware of the side effects and the consequences[/quote]

Exactly. We choose to smoke. I choose to smoke. I choose Hookah over cigarettes.

I don't think they are directly comparible. Mrs JD is ashmatic and hates cigratette smoke, but Shisha has no affect on her and does not make the room smell anything like Cigarettes.

Just my 2p's worth

JD

[EvansLight]

the more i think about this, im startng to think that the hookah is healthier... hmm time to start doing some testing

[TJ Perry]

I love how it's put like "We have no idea what it does to people, because nobody researches it, BUT WE KNOW IT'S REALLY REALLY BAD FOR YOU OK".

Sorry, I really want to see some hard evidence to back up your panic science.

That being said, I know it's unhealthy, just like the bacon I ate for breakfast.

[emmpeethree]

i always thought it was better than cigarettes because:

1) the smoke is cooled and doesnt sear the lungs
2) the tabacco doesn't actually [i]burn[/i]
3) the tabacco doesn't have as many additives as cigarette tabacco
4) you don't have to inhale
5) much less likely to smoke alone, if ever
6) maybe i'm speaking for myself here, but i keep the hookah a weekly or bi-weekly at max activity, so its definately not as often as cigarettes

[PersianPride]

Ok firstly people this is not a scientific journal entry its a news article in which I assumed the journalist simply had a candid chat with the scientist. In which case I doubt the guy was going to talk about mutation rates, mitotic index and germinal cells.
Studies have already been done on the subject and hookah smoking is very much a harmful habit and I personally disapprove of more then 1 session a week. But that said there has to be more solid scientific reports not more surveys in which they try to determine how fast hookah use is growing these are rather pointless in my opinion.

For actual scientific studies search here:
[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...earch&DB=pubmed[/url]

[Macho555]

You mean inhaling burning debrisis bad for me? Why me worry?

I like that one line though.
"Another concern, he noted, is that hookah use may represent a loophole around city and state laws banning smoking in public places."

College kids are probably the most likely to go out and smoke in parks etc, and If hookahs are a loophole, then its time to start telling people that its deadly. Theres going to be a huge wave of this things soon, each one not containing a single fact.

OH NOES EVIL HOOKAHS BAD!

[hookah hippie]

articles like this pop up all over the place why can't people just let smokers smoker why don't they just get a hobby and leave us alone

[Sonthert]

News flash...jumping off a skyscraper may be as harmful as jumping off a cliff, even more so.
Doctors and researchers say that Ebola virus may be more dangerous than Hanta virus.

Any more brilliant insights?

[yashman19]

This article sounds virtually identical to all the other articles regarding health and hookah...

[cymptom]

I find this interesting: [url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=8283598&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...l=pubmed_docsum[/url]

Small hookah smoke contains 4 times more CO than large hookah smoke.

[Joseph]

I love PubMed, I use it all the time. Thanks for giving us some real scientific information about Hookahs and Health.

[Caramellanne]

You know, Im asthmatic as well and if I even breathe in a small hint of a cigarette, I almost die! When I sit down with my hookah, I can go for hours...Explain that mr. journalist...And like everyone else said...Why the hell do they care what we do in our spare time...The only people that we are harming in this act is ourselves, and WE ARE WILLING. I am not holding a gun to someones head and saying SMOKE HOOKAH OR DIE BITCH! These people have nothing better to do with their time then to pester people who have more interesting lives than they do...dumbasses! I bet you if that journalist tried hookah, he would like it too~

[Joseph]

I have nothing against valid scientific research into the risks of hookah smoking, people should make informed decisions.

[cafedelmar]

I'm just posting an article I read regarding smoking shisha. Don't worry guys, I still smoke shisha too.

[cafedelmar]

[quote name='JonnysGirl']You know, Im asthmatic as well and if I even breathe in a small hint of a cigarette, I almost die!  When I sit down with my hookah, I can go for hours...Explain that mr. journalist...And like everyone else said...Why the hell do they care what we do in our spare time...The only people that we are harming in this act is ourselves, and WE ARE WILLING. I am not holding a gun to someones head and saying SMOKE HOOKAH OR DIE BITCH! These people have nothing better to do with their time then to pester people who have more interesting lives than they do...dumbasses! I bet you if that journalist tried hookah, he would like it too~[/quote]

The problem with your argument is that it's just anecdotal evidence. First, no one is saying Hookah smoke effects you in the same way as cigarette smoke. Just because it doesn't trigger an asthma attack doesn't mean it doesn't act in other harmful ways.

Second, and this one is much less scientific. You may be harming yourself, and not forcing it upon anyone else with a gun, but by harming yourself you are in turn harming your environment. If you get sick from smoking, you're taxing the health care system - especially if you live in a society where health care is provided for you. You're costing money, you're taking up space in a hospital, you're not able to work resulting in lost productivity, etc, etc.

Finally, the conclusion that his life is not interesting because he disagrees with you is simply retarded. You're insulting how he spends his time and saying he has no life, but when he says you shouldn't spend your time smoking hookah, you get upset...

Once again, I'm not saying smoking shisha is evil and deadly, and no one should do it. I'm just posting an article I found online. While most people know it's not perfectly safe, many people, as is evident in this thread, still beleive smoking shisha is perfectly harmless. IMO, it's important to bring light to articles like this so we can get proper research and see the actual effects. Obviously, both sides of the debate have a bias, but there's a need for some cold hard facts which don't seem to exist.

[entrailsgalore]

These three points caught my eye...

[quote name='cafedelmar']1.He also found that genetic damage in the mouth tissue of hookah smokers was identical to that seen among cigarette smokers.

2.Nobody really knows what the risks of hookah smoking are compared to cigarettes

3.We're worried that hookah smokers could become addicted and could either turn to cigarettes or daily use of hookah devices for tobacco," Loffredo added.[/quote]

1. Inhaling any type of smoke is harmful to your health, so it would be almost expected that cigarette smoke and hookah smoke have similar if not the same side effects. Smoke is smoke.

2. Because we do not know the exact risks of hookah smoking, we cannot straight up say "hookaing is worse than smoking cigarettes". Any articles that state otherwise are BS, imo.

3. Anyone can become addicted to any form if nicotine intake weather its from smoking cigs or hookah. But then again anyone can become addicted wot drinking coffee. As everyone knows nicotine and caffeine are both stimulants. Long exposure to either of them can cause someone to become dependant on both.

So drinking coffee with caffeine is just as bad as smoking hookah or cigs. Of course hookah is a longer exposure to nicotine, but people forget that when youre smoking hookah youre inhaling nicotine. When youre smoking cigarettes youre inhaling:

Acetanisole, Acetic Acid, Acetoin, Acetophenone, 6-Acetoxydihydrotheaspirane, 2-Acetyl-3- Ethylpyrazine, 2-Acetyl-5-Methylfuran, Acetylpyrazine, 2-Acetylpyridine, 3-Acetylpyridine, 2-Acetylthiazole, Aconitic Acid, dl-Alanine, Alfalfa Extract, Allspice Extract,Oleoresin, and Oil, Allyl Hexanoate, Allyl Ionone, Almond Bitter Oil, Ambergris Tincture, Ammonia, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Hydroxide, Ammonium Phosphate Dibasic, Ammonium Sulfide, Amyl Alcohol, Amyl Butyrate...



...To name a few.

So bottom line, I dont believ anyone who tells me hookah is more dangerous than amonia-filled cigarrettes. Untill there is cold hard proof of that, I dont by into it. Most people who argue this dont actually have any proof. You know why? Becuase there is none. There is no evidence to this date that flat out proves hookah is more dangerous than cigarettes.


Thats just my 27 cents on that matter.

[MilqueToast]

[quote name='JonnysGirl']You know, Im asthmatic as well and if I even breathe in a small hint of a cigarette, I almost die!  When I sit down with my hookah, I can go for hours...Explain that mr. journalist...And like everyone else said...Why the hell do they care what we do in our spare time...The only people that we are harming in this act is ourselves, and WE ARE WILLING. I am not holding a gun to someones head and saying SMOKE HOOKAH OR DIE BITCH! These people have nothing better to do with their time then to pester people who have more interesting lives than they do...dumbasses! I bet you if that journalist tried hookah, he would like it too~[/quote]

This article does not say, "Hey you over there. Hookah smoker. Don't do this in your spare time, you stupid git.". The goal in these articles is typically to advise a public that (in the majority) does not know much about the topic. This specific article lacks a lot of substance, but it still doesn't condemn you to hell for smoking hookah. Some people actually care what they are ingesting when they smoke this ill-named "safer" alternative. Pestering? This isn't a personal attack on anyone. It is a poorly-informed article that generally states that smoking hookah is bad. I -know- it is written poorly without substantial evidence, but come on, you know that smoking anything can't be good for you. Just because it effects you differently than cigarettes do, doesn't mean that it isn't harmful. Also, the journalist's preference of smoking tobacco or not has absolutely no effect on the consequences of smoking in general. That's just silly. A cigarette-smoking journalist could not negate the fact that smoking is not good for you because he smokes Marlboro Reds. The article probably wasn't meant for those who already smoke...we aren't the entire public, JG.

[Lukasa]

Once people on this forum start getting cancer, I'll quit hookah.

[DizzyGuy]

[quote name='Lukasa']Once people on this forum start getting cancer, I'll quit hookah.[/quote]

I have cancer of the coccyx.

But that is probably more from the sittin on my ass all day than smokin da hookah

[Johnny_D]

[quote name='Lukasa']Once people on this forum start getting cancer, I'll quit hookah.[/quote]

Good enough for me too.

JD

[Lazy Dayz]

you know what disturbs me about this article...it creates a frenzy. people are like, oh look at this research, don't smoke hookah. but i'm sorry, if you spend 5 years researching hookah smoking, and the only thing you've found is that hookah smoking is on the rise among young people, you're a lousy researcher. and what's worse? you throw in a little aside "hookah smoking MIGHT LEAD TO CIGARETTE SMOKING". when i saw this article i wanted to smack someone, and i'm glad it's being talked about on the forum. we as a community need to be on top of these things, be politically active and what not.

if i might digress, there was another article in tobacco news that i found more unnerving than this, and i'm sorry i'm too lazy to link the article. but anyway, rj reynolds settled with 39 states. this settlement involves the banning of all flavored cigarettes, mostly the delicious camel exotic blends. but here's the scary part, they're banning the flavored cigarettes not because they're flavored cigarettes, but because the flavoring appeals to younger smokers, the packaging attracts younger smokers, and blah blah blah younger smokers younger smokers younger smokers. people get protective of their young, and heaven forbid we put any responsibility on the retailer, we'll just ban it all together. why is this scary? it sets a legal precedent that its ok to ban a substance because of its marketability (or percieved marketability) to a younger audience. wow, this sounds a lot like hookah. and if the powers that be can bring rj reynolds to their knees, they can bitch slap hookah which has no political PAC or any kind of lobbying power in Washington. i'm not saying they're going to ban hookahs, but its definately something to be aware of, to look out for.

[Lazy Dayz]

sorry, let me correct myself. they don't have to totally stop selling them, they just have to watch what they name them. this article wasn't the initial one i read, but here is something talking about it


[url="http://www.topix.net/content/trb/0726611572421443619827791133530301470492"]http://www.topix.net/content/trb/072661157...133530301470492[/url]