Kamil's is one of the restaurants allowed to have hookahs in Clifton. Presented on Friday, October 19, 2018. (Photo: Anne-Marie Caruso / NorthJersey.com)

For years, many people have been convinced that smoking tobacco in a narghile is less harmful than smoking because tobacco is filtered through the water.

It is gaining popularity, especially among young people, attracted by tobacco sold in colorful packaging and in fruit and candy flavors.

But one A new scientific statement released this week by a group of medical researchers refutes this misconception, stating that smoking tobacco in tracheas, water pipes or hookahs entails the inhalation of toxic chemicals, often at high levels. even higher than those of cigarette smoke.

The statement, published in the Circulation Journal of the American Heart Association, indicates that hookah smokers, during sessions usually lasting 30 minutes, tend to inhale liters of smoke filled with large quantities of hazardous materials at higher levels than cigarettes.

Aruni Bhatnagar, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Diabetes and Obesity at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, said in a statement that the smoke from hookah contained harmful substances and that the 39; American Heart Association "strongly recommends" to avoid tobacco in all its forms.

Bhatnagar participated in writing the statement on behalf of 10 other health experts co-authors. The main features of hookahs – which have whole bars devoted to popular practice throughout the United States – include a head or bowl to hold tobacco, a water base and a hose that connects to a mouthpiece.

The statement says that direct comparisons between smoking and cigarettes have limitations, but a hookah session is more exposed to carbon monoxide than a single cigarette. Studies have shown that narghile users take an average of three to five sessions a day.

"Comparing a single cigarette to a single water session shows that the use of the water pipe exposes smokers to heavier and more toxic levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ( PAH) that the cigarette, "the statement said.

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But the researchers say that it's not just the duration of a hookah session that makes it harmful.

Short-term exposure to carbon monoxide in hookahs is also toxic. They argue that this "has a significant impact on heart rate and blood pressure" and that chronic use is associated with an increased risk of long-term coronary heart disease.

The medical statement says that hookah smoke also contains other potentially harmful chemicals that can affect the cardiovascular system: nicotine, air pollutants, particulates, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acrolein, lead, cadmium and arsenic.

"Most of these toxins are richer in hookah than cigarette smoke," warns the American Heart Association.

According to health experts, helping to fuel the popularity of hookahs is a misconception that hookah smoking is not addictive. In fact, they argue, people who smoke hookahs are more likely to start smoking than nonsmokers.

In the United States, smoking is more common among young adults aged 18 to 24, accounting for 55% of hookah smokers, according to studies cited by the American Heart Association.

Nargile smoking is used by 13.8% of young adults and 4.8% of high school students. This is on the rise, reflecting increased use of hookahs among young people in the UK and the Middle East.

According to the group of health professionals, more research is needed to better communicate the health effects of smoking.

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