A hookah is a vessel, usually filled with water, to which a smoking bowl and a hose for inhaling smoke are connected using a special tube (mine). Now let's try to understand what harm from hookah smoking exists and is there any at all?
Hookah has existed for a long time in the East, where it is considered not just a smoking device, but a kind of tradition, part of Eastern culture. His smoking often occurred not only during leisure, but also during business negotiations. Several decades ago, this custom, having visited Europe and America, has come down to us.
Besides using special smoking mixtures, some people prefer to smoke ordinary cigarette tobacco through a hookah, arguing that less harm is done to the body in this way. What are these beliefs based on, and are they true? Is there any evidence that such tobacco use is less harmful to the body?
Hookah: harmor benefits for the body
To begin with, let's remember what arguments are given by those who consider smoking through a hookah less harmful. Why is it needed at all and how does it affect a person? Perfectly relaxes after hard working days and has a calming effect on the nervous system - supporters say. This is true, but the use of alcohol and drugs, too, at first, perfectly relaxes, while not guaranteeing the absence of danger in the future. Also, lovers argue that the hookah does not cause harm, and therefore cannot turn into a bad habit. Canadian doctors, after conducting research, found the opposite. Habituation occurs, and no less than to ordinary cigarettes, which once again refutes the myth of a less harmful way of smoking.
The myth of cleansing water quality
It is generally accepted that a flask with water serves as a kind of filter, passing through which the smoke cools and leaves some of the harmful substances. There is some truth in this, but given the temperature of the smoke in a hookah (more than 400 degrees Celsius), without any special knowledge, you can understand that the smoke, passing through the water, simply does not have time to cool down to a temperature that is safe for the human body. In addition, most of the dangerous components of tobacco smoke simply cannot dissolve in water due to their chemical properties, which means they go straight into the smoker's lungs. As a result, hookah is harmed by the fact that one session of such smoking, in terms of the amount of harmful substances that have entered the body, is equivalent to 60 cigarettes.
Danger is notonly in the hookah
Also worth mentioning is the quality of smoking blends. Since in most cases they are produced in an artisanal way, there is a high probability that you will get goods, the smoking of which through a hookah will bring even more harm. And since when smoking a hookah, we inhale a very large amount of smoke at a time, its dangerous actions affect not only the lungs, but also nearby organs, as a result of which, in addition to lung cancer, you can get cancer of the larynx.
Deadly euphoria
Now it's time to discuss why, after smoking a hookah, a person enters a state of some kind of euphoria. It was found that passing through water, the concentration of carbon monoxide, a substance that dilates blood vessels, increases, due to which light intoxication occurs. The effect of this substance has not been fully studied, but has already been recognized as undesirable for the body.
Infection
And, finally, it is worth mentioning the possible transmission of some infections in the process of smoking - traditions involve the transfer of smoking pipes to each other, so infection with tuberculosis or hepatitis A is not excluded.
This, perhaps, is all that can be said today about what kind of hookah harms the body. But constant research is underway in this area, so something new is likely to be learned soon, but it is far from a fact that this new one will talk about the benefits of a hookah.
