Hookahs more dangerous than cigarettes

By jazbablog - Mon May 31, 1:25 pm

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Smoking hookah is increasingly becoming popular among the youth but its use is more harmful than cigarette, a medical expert warned.

“Many young people seem to believe that hookahs and other water pipes are safer than cigarettes, but its use is more detrimental to a person’s health than smoking cigarettes,” said Purushottam Lal, chairman and chief interventional cardiologist of Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute.

According to a survey by the Metro Hospital, hookah cafes have become a trend.

Lal said the popularity of water-filled smoking pipes may be because of perception that they are safer than cigarettes.

“A false belief among users is that the smoke from hookah is less dangerous than that of cigarettes. This is wrong,” he added.

According to Lal, the study has found that the users consume around 100 to 200 times more smoke and about 70 times more nicotine in one hour of hookah session compared to smoking a single cigarette.

“Water pipe smokers are seven times more likely than non-smokers to show signs of gum disease and mouth cancer. Each hookah session consists of 50 to 200 inhalations that each range from 0.15 to 0.5 litres of smoke,” Lal said.

The doctor said that water pipe smoke contains nicotine, carbon monoxide, carcinogens and it may also have greater amounts of tar and heavy metals than cigarette smoke.

Tobacco use is the second biggest cause of death globally after hypertension and is responsible for killing one in 10 adults worldwide.