Harmful Hookahs

Despite warnings from the CDC that hookah smoking can be just as dangerous as cigarettes, many young adults believe that using the water pipes is not harmful to their health, according to a UCLA School of Nursing study.

Researchers visited three Southern California hookah lounges and asked patrons between the ages of 18  and 30, “Do you believe smoking a hookah is harmful  to your health?”

Fifty-seven percent said they thought that it was not. When asked why they thought hookahs were not harmful, 47% said they believed that the smoke gets filtered through water, and 35% said they thought that fruit used to flavor the tobacco would detoxify tobacco’s harmful chemicals. Still others, 16%, said they assumed hookahs are not harmful because the tobacco is not addictive and does not contain nicotine.

Unfortunately, none of those beliefs is true.