09 June 2010
By Tausif Alam
Pune, India
If you are among those youngsters who smoke the hookah and think it is not harmful, then listen to what the medicos say. The hookah is worse than smoking cigarettes.
"Smoking the hookah causes the same diseases as cigarettes– cancer of the lungs and heart and heart–related diseases. It is a myth that tobacco smoke passing through the water in the hookah causes less harm. According to a study done in Jaipur, the detrimental effect of the hookah is five times higher than smoking beedi and cigarettes," said chest physician Sundeep Salvi. Though the amount of nicotine in hookah smoking is less, the chemical components mixed with nicotine causes more harm, he added.
"The consumption of tobacco through hookah causes chronic bronchitis, shortness of breath, restlessness, asthmatic disease and other harmful diseases. The amount of nicotine one inhales through the number of drags while smoking hookah is much higher than smoking a cigarette. It causes more deposition of nicotine and other harmful components in the body," said chest physician Rajeev Adkar.
Chemical components produced from hookah smoking are hydrocarbons, carbon–monoxide, tar and other heavy metals. Their inhalation can pose major ill–effects to the body.
Continuous hookah smoking can cause mouth–related diseases and mild burns on the tongue and inside the cheek. "Hookah smoking can cause cancerous growth in the mouth, gum diseases and other mouth diseases," said dentist Prakash Chandorkar. The water pipe used in the hookah used for dragging smoke can also cause mouth infections since many people use it while smoking.
"A sporadic habit is enough to turn one into an addict. People get admitted to deaddiction centre to rid their hookah habit. We have counseled many," said consultant physician Sanjeev Saraf. He is attached to the Muktangan Deaddiction Centre.
Disclaimer: The news story on this page is the copyright of the cited publication. This has been reproduced here for visitors to review, comment on and discuss. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘Fair dealing’ or ‘Fair use’. Visitors may click on the publication name, in the news story, to visit the original article as it appears on the publication’s website.
