DOHA: Shisha smokers put themselves at greater risk of diseases like bronchitis, emphysema, periodontal disease and lung cancer and expectant mothers who smoke shisha can give birth to children with low weight, says an expert.
“With a water pipe, and as the water cools the smoke and the draw resistance of the pipe is so low, it’s very easy to inhale a lot of smoke – up to 50 litres of smoke over a 45-minute use period”, said Professor Thomas Eissenberg, Director of the Center for the Study of Tobacco Products at Virginia Commonwealth University in US.
He added that compared to around one litre of smoke that is consumed by someone smoking a cigarette over about five minutes. It’s important to know that the water only cools the smoke, it doesn’t filter out toxicants.”
Speaking at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q) Grand Rounds to an audience of physicians, researchers, students and healthcare professionals Eissenberg pointed out that smoking shisha or narghila has experienced huge growth in popularity in the Middle East, the US and Europe in recent years, particularly among young people. Many people mistakenly believe that shisha is not as harmful or addictive as smoking cigarettes pointing out that shisha can actually be more harmful because of the way it is smoked Eissenberg explained.
Speaking about his research outcomes said chemical analysis of water pipe and cigarette smoke he conducted in laboratory found that the smoke from a 45-minute shisha session exposed a smoker to 1.7 times the amount of nicotine, and contained 8.4 times the amount of harmful carbon monoxide and a massive 36 times the amount of tar, as the smoke from one cigarette over a five-minute period. Tobacco smoke from shisha contains many of the same poisons and can cause addiction in the same way as the smoke from cigarettes.
The installment of WCM-Q was attended by an expert in tobacco research and nicotine dependence and discussed the harmful effects of smoking shisha.
Dr. Thurayya Arayssi, Associate Dean for Continuing Professional Development said: “Shisha smoking is pressing issue and it is very good for the healthcare community in Qatar to benefit from Prof. Eissenberg’s expertise that shed light on the health risks associated with all types of smoking tobacco products.”
Calling for more research into the effects of water pipe smoking and more work to raise awareness of its dangers, Prof. Eissenberg added: “Why should we care about water pipe smoking? Because our youth are getting addicted to it, and it’s killing them.”
The Peninsula
