Hookahs Are Spreading Lung Disease And Cancer

Americans are smoking fewer cigarettes nowadays, but they’re starting a habit that’s just as unhealthy: Researchers in California find that smoking tobacco in a hookah is on the rise.

“This rise is particularly alarming because it’s happening in California, a state that leads the nation in tobacco control,” warns researcher Wael Al-Delaimy, M.D., Ph.D. “While cigarette smoking has decreased nationwide and in California, (hookah use has) increased, especially among adolescent and young adults.”

Study results showed that from 2005 to 2008, hookah use among all adults increased by more than 40 percent; and by 2008, hookah use in California was much higher among young adults  — 24.5 percent among men, 10 percent among women — than it was among all adults — 11.2 percent among men, 2.8 percent among women.

While many people think smoking a hookah is safer than cigarette smoking, the tobacco smoke from a hookah contains a wealth of carcinogens.