Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
Smoking in a typical peasant style has not evaporated even in the age of information. Hubble bubble continues to be a part of peasant social life. Using it in small or large gathering is a visible phenomenon in interpersonal relationship. Hookah culture is by and large found among the working class in a peasant society. The well off or elite would like to smoke water pipe that releases smoke with fragrance.
Hubble bubble culture is associated with working class. This remains a common scenario in rural areas. Sharing Hubble bubble in a group is an expression of friendship. Even they greet the strangers with hookha
‘Similar to cigarettes, hookah smoking delivers the addictive drug nicotine and it is at least as toxic as cigarette smoking. While many hookah smokers may consider this practice less harmful than smoking cigarettes, hookah smoking carries many of the same health risks as cigarettes.
Hookahs are water pipes that are used to smoke specially made tobacco that is usually flavored. They are also called a number of different names, including waterpipe, narghile, argileh, shisha, hubble-bubble, and goza. Hookah smoking is typically practiced in groups, with the same mouthpiece passed from person to person.'(htt:/ /healthusnews.com/ health news)
In recent years, there has been an increase in hookah use around the world, most notably among youth and college students. The Monitoring the Future survey found that in 2014, about 23% of 12th grade students in the United States had used hookahs in the past year, up from 17% in 2010. In 2014, this rate was slightly higher among boys (25%) than girls (21%). CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey found that from 2013 to 2014, hookah smoking roughly doubled for middle and high school students in the United States. Current hookah use among high school students rose from 5.2% (770,000) to 9.4% (1.3 million) and for middle school students from 1.1% (120,000) to 2.5% (280,000) over this period.( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
Hookah smoke contains many of the same harmful toxins as cigarette smoke.”According to a study published in the 2012 issue of CDC’s Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD ), many hookah smokers believe that smoking a hookah carries less risk of tobacco-related disease than cigarette smoking. However, hookah smoke contains many of the same harmful toxins as cigarette smoke and has been associated with lung cancer, respiratory illness, low birth weight, and periodontal disease. According to a research report, ‘a hookah smoking session may expose the smoker to more smoke over a longer period of time than occurs when smoking a cigarette. Also, due to the method of smoking-including frequency of puffing, depth of inhalation, and length of the smoking session-hookah smokers may absorb higher concentrations of the same toxins found in cigarette smoke.'(htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
Cancer may occur
‘The charcoal used to heat tobacco in the hookah increases the health risks by producing smoke that contains high levels of carbon monoxide, metals, and cancer-causing chemicals.
A typical 1-hour-long hookah smoking session involves 200 puffs, while an average cigarette is 20 puffs. The volume of smoke inhaled during a typical hookah session is about 90,000 milliliters, compared with 500 to 600 milliliters inhaled when smoking a cigarette.
Using a hookah to smoke tobacco poses a serious potential health hazard to smokers and others exposed to the emitted smoke.’
‘There has most notably been an increase in hookah use among youth and college students’.
‘Another study reported that’one way to reduce youth hookah use is by educating young people about the harmful health effects associated with hookah smoking. The study suggests requiring warning labels on tobacco products and advertisements. Health organizations echo these suggestions. The WHO’s Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg) urges consideration of the following public health initiatives to reduce hookah smoking and associated disease:
Education of health professionals, regulators, and the public at large is urgently needed about the risks of hookah smoking, including high potential levels of second-hand exposure among children, pregnant women, and others.
Hookahs and hookah tobacco should be subjected to the same regulations as cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Hookahs and hookah tobacco should include strong health warnings.
Claims of harm reduction and safety should be prohibited.
Misleading labeling, such as “contains 0 MG tar,” which may imply safety, should be prohibited.
Waterpipes should be included in comprehensive tobacco control efforts, including prevention strategies and cessation interventions.
Hookahs should be prohibited in places consistent with bans on cigarette and other forms of tobacco smoking’. (htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
‘While hookah has long been considered a harmless activity, its health effects are often more damaging than cigarette smoking. Spend an hour smoking hookah, and you might as well have smoked a pack of cigarettes. That’s how much tar and nicotine you’ll be exposed to.”If you examine the stuff they’re inhaling, it’s potent – it’s a lot of bad stuff,” says Norman H. Edelman, senior medical adviser for the American Lung Association. “Many teens believe this is safe, and of course, we know it’s not safe.” .( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
On the surface, hookah – with flavors ranging from cherry to chocolate, and watermelon to mint – tastes more like fun than a serious health risk. Perhaps that’s why, as cigarette use declines among young people, hookah smoking is gaining popularity. One in 5 high school seniors in the United States has smoked hookah sometime in the past year, according to a study published in Pediatrics this month. And another new study, published in Nursing Research, found that the majority of young adults 18 to 30 who smoke hookah think it’s safe – a false assumption. .( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
Hookah, a type of water pipe that originated in the Middle East and India, facilitates charcoal-heated air through a tobacco mixture, then through a water-filled chamber and finally through a pipe that allows users to inhale the vapor. It’s typically smoked in groups – hookah bars and cafes are a mainstay in many cities – with the same mouthpiece passed from person to person. It doesn’t taste or smell like cigarette smoke, but the common notion that the water used in a water pipe filters out harmful ingredients is false, research suggests’.( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
‘The new Pediatrics study sheds light on who is most likely to smoke hookah – or shisha, as it’s often called. Among the 5,540 students surveyed nationwide, the most frequent users were from families of higher socioeconomic status, white, male, already cigarette smokers and had previously used alcohol, marijuana or other illicit substances. Living in a big city, having more highly educated parents and a weekly income of $50 or more also increased the odds of hookah use. Joseph Palamar, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of population health at New York University, says it’s unclear why these teens are most likely to gravitate toward hookah use. .( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
“It might have to do with the stigma,” he says. “Cigarette smoking is a highly stigmatized behavior these days – but hookah doesn’t appear to have that stigma, so use generally isn’t frowned upon. In fact, it’s trendy, a lot of people are talking about it and it’s a social activity. People don’t view it as an unhealthy behavior.” .( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
Sarah Din, 31, echoes that sentiment – aside from the “fruity and flowery” flavors, hookah is distinct because of the way it brings people together, she says. She’s the founder of a hookah Meetup group in San Francisco, and her interest traces back to the years she spent in the Middle East as a high school student. “In those countries, going to smoke hookah is like going to Starbucks,” she recalls. “People just gather, sit around and play games like backgammon or cards. There’s a hookah cafe on every corner, and they’re open really late – some until 5 a.m. It’s the ultimate pastime since people don’t drink alcohol for religious reasons and don’t go to bars.” .( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
‘Still, experts are quick to point out that while hookah is often mistakenly perceived as safer and less addictive than cigarettes, it can lead to short- and long-term health risks. For one thing, it appears to deliver more tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide than cigarettes. Consider that during an hourlong hookah session, it’s possible to inhale as much smoke as a cigarette smoker would consuming 100 or more cigarettes, according to a 2005 report from the World Health Organization. And in May, researchers found that just one evening of hookah smoking could make nicotine urine levels spike by more than 70 times. Findings were published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. In other words, don’t be fooled if tobacco contains fruit – it’s still tobacco, unhealthy and addicting.( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
Those who need more convincing might consider research that suggests hookah is linked with lung and bladder cancer, respiratory disease, heart disease and adverse effects during pregnancy like low birth weight. Not to mention, its tobacco juices irritate the mouth and spike the risk of developing oral cancers. Even bystanders, perhaps hanging out in hookah lounges as their friends indulge, aren’t immune. Secondhand smoke risks from hookah appear to be the same as from cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. .( htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
Despite such concerns, Din says the health effects don’t worry her. “People do a lot of other things that are way unhealthier, like eating habits and not working out,” she says. “So if I’m doing it once a week for an hour, it’s like drinking alcohol – you know it’s toxic for your body, but you’re not an alcoholic. It really depends on how you control it yourself.”Palamar, too, likens occasional hookah use to moderate drinking. “No matter what, there’s going to be people who get drunk once in a while,” he says. “If you’re [smoking hookah] occasionally, it’s not as bad as doing it every day. We don’t want people to use at all, but if you’re going to, at least keep it infrequent.” .(htt://healthusnews.com/health news)
And it’s interesting, he continues, to note how hookah compares to teen marijuana use. About 1 in 3 high school seniors have used marijuana in the last year, and 45 percent have tried it at some other point, Palamar says. “It’s still nowhere near the rates of marijuana,” he says. “But I worry more about hookah – because as we all know, many of us have tried marijuana, and then you move on. This actually has nicotine, it’s socially accepted and if you start doing it more and more, it could really be classically addicting.”
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Department of Public Administration, Chittagong University)
