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Washington: According to a study, hashtags, such as #hookah or #shisha, used on social networks encourage the use of narghile, despite its serious health risks.
found that the representation and promotion of narghile on social media can standardize its use and pose public health problems.
Given the recent increase in smoking among youth and students, a team of researchers from Florida International University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Miami, the Center Syrian Tobacco Studies and the University of Pittsburgh selected 279 on posts published on the hookah:
* 99.6% reported positive feelings towards the use of narghile
* One item (0.4%) mentions negative health effects associated with the use of narghile
* 63.8% were promotional in nature
Most publications were associated with nightlife, community and hookah
The authors wrote: "There is growing evidence to suggest that narghile can lead to nicotine addiction and many other smoking like cancer, cardiovascular disease, "
The researchers also noted that 10% of all posts were using the #HookahAddiction hashtag, signaling that nicotine addiction is not perceived as a risk to the which would discourage potential users.
The researchers noted that policy makers and other stakeholders should explore ways to reduce the number of promotional messages, for example by creating campaigns to counterbalance the positive themes presented on social media
. a milestone in the identification of narghile-related topics on Instagram and demonstrates the value of using this social platform's data to complement and expand r understanding of health behaviors, "wrote Ben authors Taleb et al. "These findings may inform the design of future tobacco control media campaigns aimed at countering the standardization of hookah use on social media."
The study was published in the journal Health Education & Behavior.
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