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<br />Medical research on hookahs shows that they have many health <br />benefits. Hookah is known to contain vitamin A, Band C. A <br />review of the health effects of hookah use in the medical journal <br />Pediatrics concludes that the harmful effects of hookahs are much <br />less than those caused by cigarettes. The smoke aerosol from <br />hookah use shows very high levels of nicotine, "tar," and heavy <br />metals. The nicotine content is equivalent to a smoker that <br />smokes 30 cigarettes a day, demonstrating very high potential for <br />addiction. The cancer causing agents are similar, levels of carbon <br />monoxide are higher, and hookah use has an additional risk of <br />person to person infection related to the method of smoking <br />practice. A case-control study of 214 Chinese tin miners found <br />there was a two-fold increased risk for lung cancer among those <br />who had ever used water pipes compared with nonsmokers. <br />Twenty two of twenty five cases of lung cancer in a study in India <br />were among those who were regular hookah users. [8] Research <br />with a series of Egyptian patients showed that hookah smokers <br />who smoked in groups had increased rates of infection when <br />compared with nonsmokers. Thomas Eissenberg, a psychology professor at Virginia Commonwealth <br />University and co-author of a hookah study, noted that he found that "Every risk of cigarette smoking is <br />also associated with water pipes." [1] (http://www.usatoday.comlnews/nation/2005-12-28-hookah- <br />trend _ x.htm) <br /> <br /> <br />Hookah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia <br /> <br />Style and health <br /> <br />Health Benefits and Risks <br /> <br />Longer Sessions <br /> <br />Page 60f8 <br /> <br /> <br />The Caterpillar using a hookah, <br />from Alice's Adventures in <br />Wonderland <br /> <br />Allegedly, use of the hookah may actually decrease a smokers dependency on carcenogens such as tar <br />and nicotine found in the tobacco of cigarettes. One study [2] <br />(http://tc.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/13/4/327) found that a session of hookah smoking which lasts <br />about 45 minutes is similar in nicotine tar and carbon monoxide intake from one cigarette. The tar <br />derivatives produced, however, are created at lower temperatures than cigarette smoking. The effect of <br />this lower temperature is a decreased risk of cancer. <br /> <br />Gum Disease and Other Dangers <br /> <br />A study in the Journal of Periodontology found that hookah smokers were five times as likely than non- <br /> <br />smokers to have signs of gum diseaseJ9] This was studied as a result of concern to doctors in North <br />America, as 86% of colleges and universities have at least one hookah lounge within close proximity. <br /> <br />See also <br /> <br />. Health effects of tobacco smoking <br /> <br />http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah <br /> <br />6/4/2007 <br />