The answers to these questions were detailed by Shukhrat Shukurov, the chief consultant for the Ministry of Health's anti-tobacco efforts and a candidate of medical sciences, regarding the harm of smoking hookah which can be found here.
— A hookah is a device designed for inhaling smoke or vapor produced by the burning or heating of tobacco and non-tobacco products, through a liquid-filled container (from the hookah bowl), passing through an aerosol (vapor) or smoke, — the specialist says.
— Unfortunately, like in the rest of the world, our country has recently seen a rise in the number of people turning to this vice. While it represents a milder form of drug addiction, it leads to a strong dependence on nicotine in an individual.
Moreover, the harm of smoking hookah is not less than cigarette smoking. Its smoke contains carcinogenic substances (nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile aldehydes including formaldehyde and benzene), as well as nitrogen oxide and heavy metals among other toxic substances.
Also, when burning hookah coal, a large amount of carbon monoxide (poison gas) and carcinogens are released. These toxic substances cause cardiovascular and lung diseases, as well as cancers in smokers. Moreover, compared to regular tobacco smokers, hookah smokers are more exposed to the effects of toxic carbon monoxide.
Research has shown that those addicted to this vice experience an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and other dangerous acute cardiovascular effects, respiratory function impairments and inflammations, a decrease in physiological defense, fainting, and acute poisonings due to carbon monoxide exposure.
This harmful habit is dangerous due to the long-term consequences it leaves, with observations revealing a link between hookah smoking and lung cancer, destruction of tooth attachments, premature tooth loss, and low birth weight among children.
Furthermore, it causes oral, laryngeal, stomach, and bladder cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, stroke, chronic rhinitis, male infertility, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and mental disorders.
Therefore, it is essential for every person to stay away from this vice and to protect their children from the harmful effects of hookah smoking.
