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Hookah - Bad For You?


hookahos

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I saw a report on the news a few days ago.. and the reporter was saying how hookah is huge now for college aged kids.
They also said that... the whole ' hookah isnt that bad for you' is BS and that 1 session is equal to 5 packs of ciggs..

TRUE OR FALSE??
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both true and false....

its mostly vaporized sugar that you are smoking but there is still tobacco being burnt so you are still being exposed to nicotine and the like.

keep in mind it is also filtered through water(doesn't do much but it helps a little bit) and the tobacco in general has less "shit" added to it Edited by johnb73
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I read a study somewhere, its posted on this board somewhere as well, but the main reason hookah smoke isnt as bad for you as cigarette smoke is because the coals heat the tobacco to a relatively low temperature compared to cigarettes. Because of this the carcinogens (things that cause cancer) cant form like they do in other forms of smoking. I think through some statistical analysis a light hookah smoker (20 mins > 2 hours per day of smoking) lungs were extremely close to those of non smokers. Only the heavy smokers were close to a cigarette smoker (I forget exactly what heavy was, but i think it was 6 hours or more per day) and even then hookah was better. I think the conclusion was something like Hookah smoke is 13x better for you then cigarette smoke.

As far as the water filtration, it said it fliters out a good amount of the tar.
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From my own study of a lot of things, you will often times find many many sites that say that Hookah smoke is worse or compounded version of cigarette smoke. However, if you look closely at what they say, all any of the articles REALLY say is that the hookah is dangerous because of the amount of nicotine it delivers per hit and per session. This, most of the sites claim, is a gateway to cigarettes (which is a load of crap in my opinion). I could not find a single site, when I began smoking, that said anything of use about the tar going into your lungs (and most hookah tobacco is washed so there is no tar...), and unlike cigarettes, there is no added nicotine. Hookah tobacco averages 0.5% nicotine, where the average cigarette, because of added nicotine averages 7% nicotine. Assuming you smoke 2 packs a day, you're gonna get a lot more nicotine in the cigarettes than you ever would in one standard 1:30 hookah session.

The only things I found that are of interest is the possible aggravation caused by quicklite coals. They have salt peter in them, or Potassium Nitrate, in them to quicklite. When Potassium Nitrate burns it yields Potassium Oxide and Nitrogen Gas, I believe. If you look up the MSDS sheet for Potassium Oxide, you really don't want to be inhaling that. However, it affects some people differently, I can notice a difference between smoking quicklites and naturals, but for many people, the difference is negligible.

Finally, on whether or not smoking is bad, there is a doctor of alternative medicine, William Douglass, who claims that anything in moderation really is not that bad, and may even be beneficial, and advocates smoking hand-rolled cigarettes (to control the tobacco source) every now and again just for the hell of it. In short, moderation is key. If you smoke hookah like a chimney, don't be surprised if your ability to intake oxygen in the lungs is inhibited. Otherwise, puff away! cool.gif Edited by dattebayo
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QUOTE (LycanLovesthePipe @ Aug 27 2008, 11:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Is it just me or does anyone else dislike the fact that hookah is becoming the "in" thing amongst people?

Oh...and I rate hookah isn't as bad as smoking is. The isn't proper research done and the research that has been done is done on people who smoke hookah and cigs


I don't really mind it becoming the in thing because fads come and go and if you're the hard-core type, you'll stay after it's gone. The bonus to the hookah aficionados is that with increased popularity, there normally comes an increase in availability of goods for the thing that's becoming popular, so there will probably be an influx higher quality stuff (as well as lower quality profiteering) with the growth in popularity. As well, there is a stigma attached to hookah smoking because it kinda looks foreign, and drug related to most people, with it becoming more in, it may grow in acceptance, and then just level off, just like most other things. So it doesn't bother me all that much. And I agree with your thing about not having enough research, there really isn't any... and people have been smoking pipes and hookahs for god knows how long, cigarettes are comparatively recent.
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QUOTE (dattebayo @ Aug 28 2008, 02:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (LycanLovesthePipe @ Aug 27 2008, 11:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Is it just me or does anyone else dislike the fact that hookah is becoming the "in" thing amongst people?

Oh...and I rate hookah isn't as bad as smoking is. The isn't proper research done and the research that has been done is done on people who smoke hookah and cigs


I don't really mind it becoming the in thing because fads come and go and if you're the hard-core type, you'll stay after it's gone. The bonus to the hookah aficionados is that with increased popularity, there normally comes an increase in availability of goods for the thing that's becoming popular, so there will probably be an influx higher quality stuff (as well as lower quality profiteering) with the growth in popularity. As well, there is a stigma attached to hookah smoking because it kinda looks foreign, and drug related to most people, with it becoming more in, it may grow in acceptance, and then just level off, just like most other things. So it doesn't bother me all that much. And I agree with your thing about not having enough research, there really isn't any... and people have been smoking pipes and hookahs for god knows how long, cigarettes are comparatively recent.


Research will be flawed no matter what, because there is always some sort of controlling interest that wants to see results one way or another. The only scientific study I saw said that moderate hookah smoking only shows negligible elevations in cancer causing antigens than in non-smokers who are exposed to toxic air and whatever crap we breathe in normally.

As for hookah being the in thing, I started because my fraternity brothers liked it, and I wanted to try something new. For me its become a social thing, and a sign of friendship and peace if I want to smoke hookah with you. Whether or not is popular is irrelevant for me, I enjoy the tranquility of smoking hookah with close friends and good music
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QUOTE (dattebayo @ Aug 28 2008, 06:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I don't really mind it becoming the in thing because fads come and go and if you're the hard-core type, you'll stay after it's gone. The bonus to the hookah aficionados is that with increased popularity, there normally comes an increase in availability of goods for the thing that's becoming popular, so there will probably be an influx higher quality stuff (as well as lower quality profiteering) with the growth in popularity. As well, there is a stigma attached to hookah smoking because it kinda looks foreign, and drug related to most people, with it becoming more in, it may grow in acceptance, and then just level off, just like most other things. So it doesn't bother me all that much. And I agree with your thing about not having enough research, there really isn't any... and people have been smoking pipes and hookahs for god knows how long, cigarettes are comparatively recent.


Ah I have never thought of it in that light before...Thanx smile.gif
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Putting anything into your lungs other than pure air is bad for them. Living in a city is bad for them. Biking behind a diesel bus is bad for them.

That being said, there has yet to be a single, proper scientific study done on the effects of hookah smoke upon the human body; it's my understanding that in all the pseudo-studies undertaken, no heat management has been performed whatsoever, so we can assume that all the test subjects were largely smoking burning shisha, which is almost certainly much worse for one's lungs because when you burn the shisha, you're inhaling tar. Edited by gaia.plateau
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QUOTE (johnb73 @ Aug 25 2008, 06:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
both true and false....

its mostly vaporized sugar that you are smoking but there is still tobacco being burnt so you are still being exposed to nicotine and the like.

keep in mind it is also filtered through water(doesn't do much but it helps a little bit) and the tobacco in general has less "shit" added to it



I agree. Since the tobacco is being filtered through water it isn't as bad as cigarettes. Hence, it's not as bad as cigarretes, but it still doesn't mean that it's not good for you lol
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there are soo many different studies out there saying that hookah is better than cigs, or that hookah is worst than cigs. but most of those studies are usually experimented to an EXTREME amount. the experiments that scientists do to prove hookah is worst than cigs is that they would heat the tobacco to where it REALLY burns and where smoke comes, instead of just heating it up with a coal or two where the VAPOR comes and the good smelling stuff. but the studies saying that hookah is better than cigs, those studies are kinda skewed up too.

its all just to prove a point, and the scientists like to add some of their personal and professional biases to it sometimes. so its pretty much whatever.

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Yes, smoking takes a toll on ones health.

But you'll still die one day, if you smoke or not.

I personally have smoked cigs till I would say I was addicted, and I exercised. I found it difficult to advance and I was winded easier. I quit and picked up hookah. I was surprised to find that I could work out almost as if I didn't smoke at all! Maybe I was winded a little easier, but I felt it was more from the lack of exercise to begin with.
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1 session is equal to 5 packs of cigs in smoke volume thats all
other than that the only thing that smoking hookah and cigs have in common is nicotine thats it
smoking hookah doesnt put off tar because the tobacco never gets hot enuf to produce the tar and on top of all that theres a huge list of chemicals that cigs have that shisha doesnt
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every form of smoking is bad for your health. but i`m sure that smoking 1 bowl of shisha does not equal the amount of carcinogens that you would get from smoking 5 packs of cigs. there have been days where i would smoke four bowls in a row and didn`t even need to cough, thats impossible when smoking 20 packs of cigs.
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  • 2 weeks later...
QUOTE (hookahos @ Aug 25 2008, 03:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
TRUE OR FALSE??


False. There aren't many studies out there, and the few that are were done via questionable methods. Smoking hookah isn't healthy, but to say that one session is the same as smoking one or more packs of cigarettes is an exaggeration with no evidence to back it up.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Wrong on that one man! the tobacco isnt being burnt! When you burn tobacco (like when smoking a cig) you end up creating tar and high doses of nicotine! but with a hookah you are slowly heating up the tobacco to the point where it starts to smoke. you still creat tar but closer to 0.0% like the boxes of tobacco say! and you still get that 0.5% of nicotine while smoking hookah but the water does filter it and also if you get a difusser it brings that percentage a little lower.


QUOTE (johnb73 @ Aug 25 2008, 06:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
both true and false....

its mostly vaporized sugar that you are smoking but there is still tobacco being burnt so you are still being exposed to nicotine and the like.

keep in mind it is also filtered through water(doesn't do much but it helps a little bit) and the tobacco in general has less "shit" added to it
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I dont know about the stats you saying but i do know that hookah still does produce carcinogens...unfortunately! lol but then again even BBQ produces carcinogens. So pretty much doesnt matter cause if you enjoy BBQ like everyone one else does in the whole world then might as well smoke hookah! mmmmm taste good

QUOTE (Apets22 @ Aug 26 2008, 05:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I read a study somewhere, its posted on this board somewhere as well, but the main reason hookah smoke isnt as bad for you as cigarette smoke is because the coals heat the tobacco to a relatively low temperature compared to cigarettes. Because of this the carcinogens (things that cause cancer) cant form like they do in other forms of smoking. I think through some statistical analysis a light hookah smoker (20 mins > 2 hours per day of smoking) lungs were extremely close to those of non smokers. Only the heavy smokers were close to a cigarette smoker (I forget exactly what heavy was, but i think it was 6 hours or more per day) and even then hookah was better. I think the conclusion was something like Hookah smoke is 13x better for you then cigarette smoke.

As far as the water filtration, it said it fliters out a good amount of the tar.
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I believe Cigarettes are no doubt worse than smoking shisha. I've never smoked a cigarette in my life and I never plan to. However, the amount of chemicals that are in cigs compared to shisha is worse on a ten-fold level. Having .05% of nicotine and 0% of tar.. come on now. Sure, the water isn't much of a filter but shisha doesn't have the sort of deadly chemicals cigs do. I smoke at least 2 hours a day (not always EVERYday) and I'm not too worried about it. I should be more worried about my alcohol intake if anything. laugh.gif

Just my .02 cents.
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