Are you sure that smoking a hookah is safe?

In Sudan and Egypt, this device is called shisha, in Turkey, Syria and India - hookah. Some of them are constructed from clay, some from plastic. Interiors of the richest eastern houses can not do without a metal hookah with ornate engraving. Whatever material they are made of, they all have the same working principle.

A bit exotic

For sure, the simplicity of the hookah and brought him such a huge popularity among young people around the world. Or maybe an exotic device creates an informal intimate atmosphere in specialized institutions? Anyway, people believe that hookah smoking is not addictive, but it brings a lot of pleasure.

Fashion, come from the Middle East

Joint smoking hookah is considered harmless. At the same time, teenagers and women, who in real life do not smoke cigarettes, send their eyes to this relaxing procedure in the Middle East. At present, hookah culture has spread far beyond its historical homeland. In Europe, Brazil and the United States of America, this exotic occupation among young people and artistic bohemians is booming.

The study, which was conducted in the US, showed that approximately one-fifth of college students tried to smoke hookah. Now these exotic attributes are even in the most impoverished cafeteria. Smokers rejoice: unlike ordinary cigarettes, smoking hookah did not fall into disgrace and is not prohibited in public places. It seems that people once again got hooked to their own misconceptions. After all, the belief in the absolute harmlessness of exotic action is erroneous.

"Smoke on the water"

One of the most important myths regarding hookah smoking is the erroneous idea of people that tobacco, passing through the water, is purified. In fact, the risks of meeting with carcinogens with this method of smoking do not disappear anywhere. Nobody knows how many chemicals are contained in the smoke that the hookah smoker breathes. Unfortunately, there have been too few scientific studies on this topic.

Tobacco burns in a small smoking cup located at the top of the main body of the device. The person inhales the vapors through a mouthpiece connected by a tube to a lower reservoir filled with water. The water filter (mine) is able to cool the inhaled smoke. As you understand, flavored tobacco does not directly enter the lungs, as with ordinary smoking. First, it is passed through the water.

Coal participates in the process

Traditionally, the tobacco in the smoking cup is sweetened with glycerin, which makes the dried leaves moist. This is why coal is added to the device to maintain permanent burning. And now think how many impurities will be in the mouth of a smoker inhaling the exhaust from the burning of charcoal? This component also contains toxic substances, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and formaldehyde resins. Some hookahs go on sale with mouthpieces containing cotton or plastic grid filters. However, the World Health Organization has not received any evidence as to how these devices reduce the potential harm from smoking.

Unknown Risks

We already know that the water tank, located in the main building, cools the smoke. Perhaps, one-time action somewhere in a cafe at a meeting with friends and will not lead to depressing health consequences. However, if you practice smoking hookah on an ongoing basis, it is unlikely that you will spare yourself harm. So, a typical session lasts at least 20 minutes. Sometimes the procedure continues for an hour. Simple calculations will tell you that instead of 8-12 puffs from one smoked cigarette, one session of hookah smoking allows a person to inhale the equivalent of 50-200 puffs. Perhaps, for most people, these figures will be a complete surprise.

Comparison of levels of carbon monoxide

A scientific study conducted in Florida considered levels of carbon monoxide among customers of hookah cafes. It was taken into account that visitors smoked before leaving the institution. As a result, the fans of hookah levels of carbon monoxide in the body were three times higher compared with lovers of cigarettes. Some of the subjects reported dizziness, which is one of the earliest signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. It turns out that this exotic device with a pleasant scent is not as harmless as it might seem at first glance.