30% of adults believe that Shisha(otherwise known as hookah) is less dangerous than smoking cigarettes, others believe that the water in shisha serves to filter some of the toxins present in shisha.
Another group believes that shisha contains only flavour and no toxins at all, given that most of them smell sweet. This is far from the truth.
For so many people, shisha is cooler and less frowned upon than cigarettes. We look down on people who smoke cigarettes, it looks cooler.
Shisha Is Harmful
Now let us compare, one cigarette to a canister of shisha. A single session of shisha will deliver 25 times more tar, 125 times more smoke, 2.5 times more nicotine and 10 times the carbon monoxide.
Aproko Doctor made a thread earlier to help you understand what carbon monoxide is and how it kills people.
Let us go further, the average cigarette contains about 600mls of smoke, will an hour-long session of shisha contains about 90,000mls of smoke.
The truth is this: We do not have enough data to show how just how much shisha you would have to take to be at the same risk as a cigarette smoker, seeing as:
- Cigarettes are more accessible.
- Cigarette smokers tend to do so more often.
- How deeply either smoker inhales the smoke
However, some pointers suggest that people who tend to smoke shisha pick up a cigarette habit and vice versa. See some research here.
The Risks Are Similar
It really doesn’t matter if you pick up a cigarette or take up shisha smoking, the risks are similar, from heart disease, lung cancer, asthma, ageing prematurely, other forms of cancer, lung disease, gum disease, etc. The risks are the same.
Furthermore, these risks might also affect people who are around shisha smoke. We call them second-hand smokers.
I am willing to bet that many young adults who constantly take shisha do not know exactly what they’re doing to their bodies. This is just to ensure that everyone out there is informed enough to make a decision. Shisha smoking is just as dangerous as cigarette smoking and there are consequences.
4 responses
My fave. Well-done Doc
I have always suspected that shisha is as bad as cigarettes. Thank you for the information, I just hope the youth and others that take it to belong will learn and stop.
Shisha is more dangerous than cigarette.
Thanks for this information. God Bless You