A hookah, also known as a shisha or waterpipe, is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument used for heating or vaporizing and then smoking tobacco, flavored tobacco, or sometimes cannabis, hashish, and opium. The smoke is passed through a water basin, often glass-based, before inhalation. Hookah users often perceive it to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but studies show that the smoke contains many of the same toxic components found in cigarette smoke, such as nicotine, tar, and heavy metals. Here are some key facts about hookah:
- Hookahs are waterpipes that are used to smoke specially made tobacco mixtures that come in a wide variety of flavors.
- The smoke from hookah contains at least 82 toxic chemicals and carcinogens.
- Although the smoke passes through water, this does not eliminate the hazardous, addictive chemicals released from the tobacco.
- The combustion of charcoal used to heat hookah tobacco may pose additional health risks, since this combustion process produces dangerous substances such as carbon.
- The major health risks of smoking tobacco, cannabis, opium, and other drugs through a hookah include exposure to toxic chemicals, carcinogens, and heavy metals that are not filtered out by the water, alongside those related to the transmission of infectious diseases and pathogenic bacteria when hookahs are shared.
- Hookah and waterpipe use is a global public health concern, with high rates of use in the populations of the Middle East and North Africa as well as in young people in the United States, Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia.
In summary, hookah is a type of waterpipe used for smoking tobacco, flavored tobacco, and sometimes other substances. Despite the perception that it is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, hookah smoke contains many of the same toxic components found in cigarette smoke and poses significant health risks.
