- Tobacco Free Collier Presents the Dangers of Hookah Use - 

Collier: Tobacco Free Collier and the statewide Tobacco Free Florida Program are raising awareness about the dangers and misconceptions of non-traditional tobacco use, like hookah (water pipes and shisha), and roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco products to help address nicotine addiction, the most significant threat to public health in the United States and across the world. Local county surveillance of non-traditional tobacco prevalence in Collier County revealed that one new RYO/Hookah Bar Lounge was identified since last year’s survey was conducted.

Using hookah to smoke tobacco poses serious health risks to smokers and others exposed to the secondhand smoke from hookah. During a typical one hour long hookah smoking session, a person inhales 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette (roughly 180 more puffs).5 Additionally, charcoal used to heat tobacco in the hookah pipe produces abnormally high levels of carbon monoxide, metals, and various cancer causing chemicals. Cancer of the lungs, bladder, oral cavities, esophagus, and stomach are common health risks related to hookah smoking, as well as decreased lung function and heart disease.3, 4

Hookah is a type of social smoking which uses a water pipe to smoke specially made tobacco that comes in different flavors such as apple, cherry, chocolate, cappuccino and watermelon.3, 4, 5, 8 This activity is usually done in groups, with the same mouthpiece being passed from person to person, which can lead to the spread of many illnesses ranging from the common flu and herpes, to even more serious communicable diseases.5, 8, 9

According to a 2009 study on the perceptions of hookah smoking harmfulness, “among hookah users, there are many misconceptions about hookah, chief among them that it is less harmful than cigarette smoking.”1 In 2013, 42.1 percent of high school students in Florida said that, compared to cigarette smoking, water pipe/hookah smoking is less harmful.2 Flavored tobacco, and the nature of the water-diffused mechanism may make the smoking sensation less harsh than cigarettes, serving as an appealing and deceptive gateway to further tobacco product use and a lifetime of addiction.7

For more information on hookah or the associated health risks, please visit https://tobaccofreeflorida.com/current-issues/hookah/.

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ABOUT TOBACCO FREE FLORIDA

The department’s Tobacco Free Florida campaign is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund. Tobacco users interested in quitting are encouraged to use one of the state’s three ways to quit. Since 2007, more than 126,000 Floridians have successfully quit, using one of these free services. To learn more about Tobacco Free Florida and the state’s free quit resources, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tobaccofreefla.

The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.floridahealth.gov.

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1 Aljarrah K, Ababneh Z, Al-Delaimy WK. Perceptions of hookah smoking harmfulness: predictors and characteristics among current hookah users. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 2009, 5:16
2 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS), Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology, 2013
3 Akl EA, Gaddam S, Gunukula SK, Honeine R, Jaoude PA, Irani J. The Effects of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking on Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Epidemiology 2010;39:834–57
4 Cobb CO, Ward KD, Maziak W, Shihadeh AL, Eissenberg T. Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: An Emerging Health Crisis in the United States. American Journal of Health Behavior 2010;34(3):275–85
5 American Lung Association. Hookah Smoking: A Growing Threat to Public Health Issue Brief.. [PDF–1.34 MB] Smokefree Communities Project, 2011
6 Prevalence, Knowledge, and Practices of Hookah Smoking Among University Students, Florida, 2012
7 Rastam S et al. Estimating the beginning of the waterpipe epidemic in Syria. BMC Public Health, 2004, 4:32
8 https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/hookahs/index.htm
9 U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Summary of Results: Laboratory Analysis of Electronic Cigarettes Conducted By FDA. Silver Spring, MD. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Page Last Updated 2014 Apr 24. https://tobaccofreeflorida.com/current-issues/electronic-cigarettes/