Contrary to popular belief, hookah smoking is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. In fact, hookah smoking poses just as much risk (if not more) to the health of the smoker as well as those in the same vicinity. Many advocates of hookah smoking will tell you that there is no tar in hookah smoke; they will also tell you that there is less nicotine. The truth is, in as little as 45 minutes of hookah smoking, a person can be exposed to as much nicotine and tar as in one pack of cigarettes, according to the Bacchus Network. Hookah boasts 2 to 4 percent nicotine as compared to a cigarette’s 1 to 3 percent, and we all know how addictive cigarettes are.
The concern of many experts is that hookah smoking is just a gateway to cigarette smoking much as cigarette smoking is a gateway to other drugs. Individuals will partake of hookah in hookah bars and find that after their tolerance of nicotine rises, they need more to get the same effect. It isn’t realistic to think that one can be at a hookah bar 24/7 or carry a hookah around for use throughout the day, therefore other nicotine delivery devices will be sought after, such as cigarettes, spit or spitless tobacco. A dream come true for Big Tobacco. And since the majority of hookah bars are popping up near college campuses, the tobacco industry indirectly scores the young users they have so tirelessly preyed upon for so many years.
The frontal lobe of the brain is not fully developed until the mid-20s. This part of the brain is responsible for judgment, impulse control, initiation and spontaneity. When one considers that some of the most frequent visitors of hookah bars don’t yet have a fully formed frontal lobe, you have a recipe for poor choices and addiction.
A peer-reviewed study published in Pediatrics, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, points to another concern with hookah use: the spread of infectious diseases (think H1N1, mono and herpes, etc.). Before partaking in the use of hookah, one may first want to consider if the mouthpieces and pipes of the hookah have been properly sterilized. Is sterilization of these devices even required and regulated in hookah bars?
source: http://www.tribstar.com
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