Hookah night with friends under the starry black sky or in a bar or cafe has become a new trend among youngsters. Usually, hookah smoking is considered safe but in reality it is as harmful, dangerous and addictive as cigarettes. A cigarette is smoked for just a few minutes. But the hookah sessions go on for hours with people sitting around the hookah in an air filled with smoke. It is thought that the water in hookah filters out the harmful substance but a study had shown that a single session of hookah delivers 1.7 times the nicotine, 6.5 times the carbon monoxide and 46.4 times the tar of a single cigarette. So, a single hookah session is equivalent to smoking 10 to 40 cigarettes. There are lots of other dangerous effects of hookah smoking. In this article we will discuss why hookah is bad for you.
Addictive
Hookah has the same addictive property as that of a cigarette. People who smoke hookah may claim that they can quit it anytime they want, but the nicotine in hookah tobacco is as addictive as the one found in cigarettes.
Causes Cancer
The charcoal used to heat up the tobacco used in hookah adds carbon monoxide and tar into the smoke which causes cancer. The tobacco used in hookah can result in lung and bladder cancer. Also, the long duration of smoking and frequent inhalation increases the chances of oral cancer.
Respiratory disorder
Respiratory disorders like coughing, wheezing and chest congestion occur to people who are smoking hookah. Even people who are just hanging out with people smoking hookah are not safe. They may suffer second hand smoke risks of hookah and can suffer from respiratory diseases.
Infectious Disease
When hookah is shared among friends or strangers, they smoke through the same mouth piece. Hence, the chances of communicating bacteria and oral infections from one person to another highly increase. Also, sharing the hookah pipe can increase the risk of contracting communicable diseases like hepatitis or meningitis.
Cardiovascular Threats
The tobacco used in hookah generates tar along with the smoke which can block arteries and hamper the blood flow to and from the heart causing a heart attack or coronary heart disease. The carbon monoxide produced from hookah is also a heart disease causing agent.
Threat for new born child
Pregnant woman who smokes hookah or stays for a long duration near people smoking hookah are subjecting their unborn child to the adverse effects of the hookah smoking. Their children are often found to be born underweight, more so than the children delivered by non-smoking mothers. Also these newborns are in danger of developing lung disorders early in their life.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
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