Sort-of-Unfortunate Research

The Truth (mostly) About Smoking Hookah

Zeke Witter

Undergraduate/Creative Writing

I've never referred to myself as a “smoker.” I've been a passenger on the anti-smoking (in public places) bandwagon in the past. I've been disgusted by the smell of cigarettes and friends of mine whose addictions I've watched develop. All this, and I've never been a smoker. I have, however, been smoking hookah for about four years. 
 
I won't presume that most Flip Side readers need a tutorial on the “hookah,” so I'll keep this brief. It's a water pipe consisting of a ceramic bowl, an aluminum—stainless steel if it's quality—stem that extends into a glass bowl, and two paper- or rubber-based hoses. The base is filled partway with water, and the bowl with flavored “shisha” tobacco, which is tobacco soaked in fruit flavors, glycerin, and molasses, and then a screen is used to separate the tobacco from a hot coal that burns it.
 
Due to recent inquiries into my genetic health predispositions, I've been taking a deeper look into my own well-being, and this has inevitably led to some questions that have long been on my mind: Is hookah dangerous? Is it safer than cigarettes? Is it addictive? The answers, after a month of extensive research, are disputable.
 
A number of studies done by a number of scholars and members of the health community all point towards similar conclusions. According to a “hookah health” study done by Thomas Eissenburg, a psychology professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, “every risk of cigarette smoking is also associated with water pipes.” He goes on to say that “a hookah, which is smoked for about 45 minutes, delivers 36 times more tar than a cigarette, 15 times more carbon monoxide and 70 percent more nicotine.”
 
A further look into several other sources more or less confirm this, although the numbers vary pretty drastically from place to place. Another study sponsored by the CDC drew the following conclusions:

--A typical one-hour-long hookah smoking session involves inhaling 100–200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. 

--Hookah smokers are at risk for the same kinds of diseases as are caused by cigarette smoking, including oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, cancer of the esophagus, reduced lung function, and decreased fertility. 

--Even after it has passed through water, the smoke produced by a hookah contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals, and cancer-causing chemicals. 
 
These studies—many of which have been corporately funded—have been met with counter-arguments from independent sources. There's the debate of combustion vs. vaporization, and one independent and extremely thorough (not speculative, like the Mayo and CDC studies) study by the Harm Reduction Journal has drawn quite different conclusions. Since I'm limited to 1,500 words here, I urge you to read my sources, particularly the HRJ study.
 
A few reasons that the clinical corporate studies may be unreliable are as follows: the method of smoking was not elaborated on in any of them (ex. coal on foil or on the shisha; quick-light or natural coal; paper- or rubber-based hose; inhale or puff; etc.); the VCU study was funded by Phillip Morris which then had full control over what information is released publicly; these studies claim a normal session is “45 minutes to an hour,” which is a huge variable, not to mention the fact that a single hookah bowl is split often between 2 or more people.
 
I can add to HRJ's findings my own personal reinforcement. I have been smoking for a long time and yet, on a full body x-ray, I showed no signs of smoke-related health problems. I have a healthy heart, throat, stomach, and healthy lungs. I can also fully debunk any claims of addictiveness. I don't know and I've never heard of anyone addicted to smoking hookah.
 
Accept the fact that until more studies have been done on Western long-time smokers, we won't have flat out conclusive generalizations. It seems the only consensus that has been met among all of my sources is that the volume of smoke and the carbon monoxide intake is increased (duh) when compared to cigarettes (which is an irrelevant comparison to be making anyway). You should be intelligent enough to know that smoking hookah is dangerous. Period. You know that it's going to hurt your health, just like cigarettes, drinking, and other mind-altering substances often do. None of this information has stopped me, or will stop me, from smoking hookah. It's an indulgence I partake in a few times a week, if not more, and I thoroughly enjoy it every time. Smoking, like anything else, should be done in moderation. It's up to you to take whatever you will from everything I've just written, but I highly suggest you experience it for yourself before making any decisions.


Sources: 
http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/5/1/19
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hookah/AN01265
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-28-hookah-trend_x.htm
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/dangers-of-hookah-smoking
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/hookahs/index.htm