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Health Effects Of Hookah Smoke
Smoking a hookah pipe (also known as shisha or nargila) has become a popular social activity in the United States in recent decades. Many people see hookah smoking as a good alternative to smoking cigarettes, because of the flavored tobacco available for hookahs and the apparent health advantages of smoking through a pipe rather than smoking cigarettes. But is the hookah’s reputation as a healthy option really justified? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of hookah smoking from a health perspective.
The supposed health benefits of smoking through a hookah are largely based on the fact that the smoke is passed through water before it reaches the smoker’s lips. The hookah was first developed in India after tobacco became popular as a way to reduce the harshness of the smoke on the body and make smoking a more pleasurable experience. Flavored tobacco soon followed the innovation of smoking through water.
However, there is no real evidence that smoking through a hookah reduces the health risks associated with inhaling smoke itself. The water does cool the smoke and make it easier on the throat, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t doing any damage to the smoker’s body. In fact, the World Health Organization has conducted research that indicates hookah smoke is equally as harmful and dangerous as cigarette smoke. So the filtration process of the hookah does not guarantee safer smoke. Read the rest of this entry »
Understanding the Health Effects of Smoking
The World Health Organization defines smoking as “smoking any form of tobacco, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc. and excluding smokeless tobacco.” In their recent studies they have stated that over 5 million people die each year from the use of tobacco products. The reason for this is the high quantity of chemicals that is absorbed into the body when these products are used.
The average cigarette contains releases over 4000 of these chemicals, 250 of which are harmful to the body, of which at least 50 of them have been proven to be cancer forming. Cancer, heart and lung diseases are the most common ailments associated with smoking, but it is, by no means, restricted to that. Virtually no part of the body is free from the potential harmful effects of smoking.
Types of cancer that have been found to be caused by smoking range from lung and throat cancer to pancreatic and bone marrow cancer. The cancer is caused through the direct absorption of the chemicals into the body which then adversely affect DNA and other genes that later creates the cancerous cells.
Heart disease is more commonly found in smokers than in non-smokers, with an increased chance of suffering from strokes and heart attacks. Chemicals released into the body through smoking, in particular nicotine, constrict the blood flow to the heart by reducing the width of blood vessels. Some of the smaller blood vessels in the human body are found in the heart and brain, and when constricted can no longer transport oxygen to the organ and causes it to fail and thus causing the heart attack or stroke. Read the rest of this entry »