Bad news for hookah-enthusiasts: Smoking from a hookah is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke, according to the Center for Disease Control. And it’s more popular than ever. Last month, California public health officials warned that there’s been a sharp rise in hookah use and the number of hookah cafes and bars. From 2005 to 2008, hookah use in California increased by more than 40 percent, according to the new tobacco report issued by the California Department of Public Health.
The danger: According to the CDC, just like with cigarettes, hookah smoking delivers nicotine into our bodies, and those who smoke are at risk for lung cancer, stomach cancer, oral cancer, and more. But that’s not all. Hookah smokers might absorb a higher concentration of the toxins found in cigarette smoke. “A typical 2-hour-long hookah smoking session involves 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette,” according to the CDC. So don’t let the flavors or the decorative water pipes fool you; hookah smoking is just as much a hazard (if not more) as cigarettes.
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