Hookah smoking is unhealthy

The health insurance DAK warns against health consequences of shisha smoking.

(31.05.2010) Instead of cigarettes, many teenagers and adults smoke shisha (water pipe) in a fitting oriental atmosphere. In the course of today's World No Tobacco Day, the health insurance DAK has warned against the health consequences of shisha smoking. Because the smoke of a hookah more pollutants are absorbed than by a cigarette without a filter. Michael Hübner, head of DAK in Saarland, explained: "Many underestimate the addictive potential and the amount of pollutants, more poisons are absorbed through the smoke of the hookah than through filterless cigarettes". The danger of hookah smoking is that the smoke is inhaled much longer and more intense than with cigarettes. The DAK chief warned that the burning of tobacco produces extremely toxic substances. "All organs that come into contact with tobacco smoke are particularly prone to cancer," says Hübner. In addition, the proportion of nicotine in the blood when smoking hookah is much higher than when consuming cigarettes.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, about 40 percent of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have ever smoked hookah. Every 8th teen smokes hookah regularly. In the shisha tobacco is usually smoked with fruit flavors or similar flavors. According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, pollutants such as arsenic, chromium and nickel have been detected in shisha smoke, which can lead to lung cancer, bladder cancer and tumors on the lips. Shisha Smoking is by no means better than cigarette consumption. (Sb)

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