Sheesha or hookah smoking

By Ms. Madiha Khalid, Islamabad

Hookah is a water pipe used to smoke tobacco through cold water. Tobacco is heated in the bowl at the top of hookah and smoke is filtered through the water in the base of hookah. Sheesha is the tobacco smoked in a hookah. Its tobacco is very moist and sticky which has been soaked in honey or molasses and is made attractive for youth with variety of flavours including apple, plum, coconut, mango, mint and strawberry.

Originally from what is now modern-day Nepal and India, hookah has gained popularity, especially in the Middle East and is gaining popularity in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil as well as in Pakistan also.

In Pakistan, although traditionally prevalent in rural areas for generations, hookahs have become very popular in the cosmopolitan cities. Many clubs and cafes are offering them and it has become quite popular amongst the youth and students in Pakistan. This form of smoking has become very popular for social gatherings, functions, and events. There are a large number of cafes and restaurants offering a variety of hookahs. Karachi has seen a growth in this business. Now Islamabad also prospers by this trade.

Hookah and Sheesha

• Other names of Hookah are sheesha, nargeela, narghile, argeela, lula, lulava, cachimba, galyan chillim, water pipe, goza, hubble bubble, borry, arhile and narghile.
• Hookah is a water pipe used to smoke tobacco through cold water. Tobacco is heated in the bowl at the top of hookah and smoke is filtered through the water in the base of hookah.
• Sheesha is the tobacco smoked in a hookah. Its tobacco is very moist and sticky which has been soaked in honey or molasses and is made attractive for youth with variety of flavours including apple, plum, coconut, mango, mint and strawberry.

GLOBAL FACTS OF TOBACCO

• Globally, use of tobacco products is increasing, although it is decreasing in high income countries.
• Almost half of the world’s children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke.
• The epidemic is shifting to the developing world.
• More than 80% of the world’s smokers live in low and middle income countries.
• It is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of deaths in the world.
• 100 million deaths were caused by tobacco in the 20^th century. If current trends continue, there will be up to one billion deaths in the 21^st century.
• Unchecked, tobacco related deaths will increase to more than eight million a year by 2030, and 80% of those deaths will occur in the developing world.

 HEALTH FACTS OF SHEESHA (HOOKAH) AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE

• Smokers have a lower level of lung function than those persons who have never smoked.
• Smoking reduces the rate of lung growth.
• Smoking hurts young people’s physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance.
• Resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers.
• Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times as often as teens who don’t smoke, and produce phlegm more than twice as often as teens who don’t smoke.
• Teenage smokers are more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professionals for an emotional or psychological complaint.
• Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine.
• Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex.
• Sheesha mouthpiece is a serious source of transmission of tuberculosis and hepatitis.

MYTH	TRUTH
Hookah smoke is filtered through water so it filters out harmful ingredients	Even after it has been passed through water, the smoke produced by a Waterpipe contains high levels of toxic compounds, including Carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer causing chemicals.
Inhaling hookah smoke does not burn the lungs, so it is not unhealthy.	One hour long waterpipe smoking session involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhales with a single cigarette.
Smoking hookahs are safer than cigarettes.	Not at all, commonly used heat sources (wood cinders or charcoal) to burn the tobacco, are likely to increase the health risks because when such fuels are combusted they produce their own toxicants, including high levels of carbon monoxide, metals and cancer causing chemicals.
Smoking a sheesha is not as addictive as smoking a cigarette, because there is no nicotine.	Waterpipe tobacco is often sweetened and flavored but it has nicotine.
Sheesha tobacco contains fruit, so it healthier than regular tobacco.	Tobacco is tobacco, no matter how you look at it. Sheesha is often soaked in molasses or honey and mixed with fruit, but it still contains cancer causing chemicals and nicotine.
Smoking a Sheesha is cool.	No, sharing a waterpipe mouthpiece poses a serious risk of transmission of communicable diseases, including, flu, oral infections, tuberculosis and hepatitis.
Sheesha smoking has no nicotine, so there is no risk of second hand smoke.	Sheesha smoking poses a serious risk for non smokers, as second hand smoke from waterpipes is a mixture of tobacco smoke in addition to smoke from the fuel.