According to a new research presented at American
Chemical Society hookah is less
harmful then cigarettes smoking hookahs may be a better decision as compared to
smoking cigarettes as they contain lesser levels of four toxic metals namely
arsenic, lead, cadmium and chromium.
The difference does not just lie in the
filtration process but in the composition of tobacco itself. Tobacco prepared
specially for shisha was found to be less harmful, than that prepared for
cigarettes. But it is difficult to compare the two since an average hookah
session lasts for an hour and 200 puffs while an average cigarette lasts only
20 puffs. Any form of smoking is dangerous, and studies says that toxic
metals in hookah smoke are taking the first steps toward the necessary animal
and human studies that will establish a clearer picture of the relative dangers
of hookah and cigarette smoking
Some of the harmful chemicals present in
cigarettes are- Benzene, Formaldehyde, Arsenic, Tar, Cadmium, Chromium,
Hydrogen Cyanide, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide and Ammonia. The
smoking a hookah is basically burning tobacco over coal with some fruit
flavouring. When there organic compounds are burned, they release a toxic
substance called, VOC (volatile organic compound) and PAH’s (polycyclic
aromatic compounds) which are highly carcinogenic (cancer causing).
The bright side to the study, it found
that smoking a hookah reduced the amount of nicotine, (the addictive compound
in cigarette) inhaled.
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