Hookah health risks

Hookah is and Indian device, used to smoke tobacco. There aremany different names to call the same device, and you will hear peoplecalling it ghelyoon, Ghalyan, hubble-bubble, or sometimes water pipe. Hookah containsa mouthpiece, hose, pipe, bowl and a smoke chamber. The tobacco used for hookahis not an ordinary kind, but somewhat special. When you use hookah, tobaccogets heated, the smoke pass through the water and get cooled down andfiltered to some point. Through the rubber hose, smoke gets into the mouthpieceand people inhale the smoke.

Smoking Hookah

Many people assume that hookah is less dangerous thancigarettes. Water in this device does not filter out all toxic components ofthe tobacco smoke, as many believe. However, water cools down the smoke, makingit less irritating for the lungs, and because of that users believe hookah isless dangerous than tobacco in cigarettes.

As the matter of fact all these assumptions are not true. Recentstudies revealed that smoking hookah leaves the user exposed to health risks similarto smokers. The World Health Organization (WHO) research has proven that hookahusers inhale much more tobacco smoke than usual cigarette smokers. Using hookah,you will inhale about 100 times and each time you will end up with 0.15 to even0.50l of smoke in your lungs. Smoking a hookah also leads to inhalation of morenicotine than cigarette smoking, and you will consume up to 70% more nicotinethat way.

What Can Happen Using Hookah

Hookah is something many people use together. Sharing thesame device and not using disposable mouthpiece may not be a good idea becauseof the potential risk of transferring various infectious diseases. You coulddevelop herpes or tuberculosis using the device with someone who suffers fromthese diseases.

People using hookah may also develop chronic cough, shortnessof breath, various lung problems and even chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseor emphysema.

Tobacco in the hookah needs to be heated, and charcoal andcinders are the most commonly used fuels. Burning of these fuels produces differenttoxic chemicals, like carbon monoxide, which only add another dangerouscomponent to already unhealthy tobacco smoke.

Then, there is the smoke from hookah. This smoke containscarbon monoxide, tar, heavy metals and many different toxins. Similar tosmoking cigarettes, hookah can cause oral health problems, including the stainson the teeth and bad breath. Among the toxic components of smoke, some of themost dangerous are agents responsible for the development of oral and other cancers,called carcinogens.