Many ask if hookah smoking is safer than normal cigarettes. This will be hard for some since what I am going to tell you is not what you expected too hear. Smoking hookah is nowhere safer than cigarettes. Hookah smoking comes with many dangers as many researchers concluded. The are people out there who still think that smoking hookah is safer than smoking cigarettes.
What is a hookah?
As seen on Shishaheart, Hookah is a traditional way that was first used in Syria, Egypt and India to smoke shisha (A kind of flavored tobacco). Nowadays, smoking shisha with a hookah is very common and it is something that we see quite often in many European countries. People are often using hookahs with their friends or social occasions since it is something that you get to share with others.
A hookah can be a pleasant experience and lots of fun. However, this does not mean that is completely safe. What hookah is, is a smoking device that is used to smoke shisha instead of tobacco leaves. Shisha is actually flavored tobacco leaves.
The Shisha is first placed in the bowl on the top of the hookah and a coal is placed on top of it. When the user inhales, pressure is created in the base of the hookah which results in increased temperature in the hookah bowl. The increase temperature results in smoke which then flows into the users’ lungs.
Is hookah dangerous?
The tobacco is no less toxic in a hookah than in a cigarette. Many believe that water in the hookah filters out the toxic ingredients in the tobacco smoke. This is wrong! Hookah water does not filter out any of the toxic ingredients. Shisha smoke may give the impression that is “cleaner” because it is not as heavy or sticky as normal cigarettes, however, this does not mean that it is any safer. In fact, hookah smokers may actually inhale more tobacco smoke than those who smoke a cigarette because of the large volume of smoke they inhale in one smoking session.
According to the new researchers however, people who are even smoking one session of hookah are in danger. Just to let you know, on hour of smoking hookah is nearly the same to smoking a pack of cigarettes.
Knowledge is important when it comes to health. So, let’s get right into the facts.
Hookah smoking facts
Fact 1: Many believe that hookah is safer than cigarettes because of the water filters out the dangerous ingredients. However, that’s not truth because water does not filter out any dangerous chemicals.
Fact 2: Many believe that herbal shisha is healthier than regular tobacco. Still, herbal tobacco contains all the harmful elements and tar that normal shisha contains.
Fact 3: Smoking hookah is addictive as cigarette is. Shisha contains nicotine and therefore it is addictive. In fact, because you get to smoke more with a hookah on a timely basis, it is way more addictive than cigarettes if hookah is used often.
Fact 4: Compared to cigarettes, shisha smoke contains higher level of arsenic, tar and carbon monoxide.
Hookah VS cigarettes
Medical advisors and researchers found out that hookah smokers are exposed to more robust materials and substances that would have been exposed to if smoked a traditional cigarette. The damage is obvious by examining people who regularly use hookahs to smoke shisha.
How to stay safe when smoking hookah (or safer)
A hookah is just an instrument. If overused, it becomes highly addictive and dangerous. The only safe way to be 100% safe while smoking shisha is to stop smoking it. However, if you are here and reading this probably you are a hookah user and whatever we are going to tell you won’t stop you from smoking. Well, in this case what you need to do is to minimize the risk by reducing the amount of shisha that you are smoking.
It is a very good idea to avoid the daily and lengthy smoking sessions and to replace regularly hookah smoking with occasional sessions that take place on special events like social occasions. To recap, no, hookah is not healthier than normal cigarettes.