Hookah messages on social media can promote its use



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Publications with hashtags, such as #hookah or #shisha, on social media platforms can portray its use in an extremely positive way despite its serious health risks, suggests a new study.

The findings, published in the journal Health Education and Behavior, suggested that the representation and promotion of hookah on social media can standardize its use and pose public health problems.

A team of researchers from Florida International University, the University of Miami, The Center for Tobacco Studies and the University of Pittsburgh selected 279 positions out of 11,517 positions labeled hookah or shisha on a four-day period

They found that 99.6% indicated positive feelings towards the use of the hookah and only one post (0.4%) mentioned its negative effects on health.

"More and more evidence suggests that narghile smoking can lead to nicotine addiction and many other known smoking-related diseases." This study represents an important step in identifying hookah related topics. on Instagram and demonstrates the value of using data from this social platform to supplement and expand our The researchers also found that 10% of all posts were using the #HookahAddiction hashtag, signaling that nicotine addiction It is not perceived as a health risk that would discourage potential users but ironically or as "badge of honor".

Researchers commented that policymakers and others should explore approaches to reducing the number of promotional positions, for example, by creating campaigns to counter positive themes on social media. ] [ad_2]
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