Harmful effects of shisha: literature review

Abstract

Tobacco is a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality across the world. A recently infamous way of smoking tobacco is shisha. Shisha smoking is also known as water pipe, hookah and Narghile smoking. The percentage of shisha smokers is on the rise rapidly spanning the globe. A literature review was conducted to identify all evidence on the epidemiological variations and health effects of shisha smoking. “Pub med” is used as a searching tool to identify all relevant empirical studies conducted worldwide. A qualitative overview of evidence is presented.Exposure to Shisha smoking is significantly associated with low infant weight, heart rate variations, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia. Increased risk of carcinoma is also leagued with it including carcinomas of the pancreas and lung being at the forefront. In conclusion, this review identifies grounds of several adverse conditions being associated with the habit of shisha smoking. It also evaluates the relevant epidemiological variations around the globe. The review culminates in the importance of enlightening shisha smokers regarding its deleterious effects.

The Prevalence, Attitudes, and Correlates of Waterpipe Smoking Among High School Students in Iran: a Cross-Sectional Study

“…Other factors that attract WP smokers, especially adolescents, are its aromatic and condensed smoke, attractive pipe design, availability, inexpensive tobacco, and social acceptance because of traditional associations and it being less stigmatized than cigarette smoking [22]. WP smoking is a new challenge for global public health efforts [23], and recent studies have shown that WP smoke is more harmful than cigarette smoke, because one session of WP smoking expose it's users to a larger amount of smoke and higher level of tobacco toxicants such as tar, carbon monoxide, nicotine, and arsenic compared with one cigarette [24][25][26][27][28][29].WP smoking is considered to be associated with lung cancer, esophageal cancer, low birth weight, periodontal diseases, and pulmonary dysfunction [30].…”

Wasserpfeifenkonsum (Shisha-Rauchen) bei Jugendlichen in Deutschland

“…Dabei existiert mittlerweile eine Vielzahl von Studien, die einen Zusammenhang zwischen der Nutzung von Wasserpfeifen und gesundheitlichen Folgeschäden nahelegen [20][21][22][23]. Demnach unterliegen Personen, die regelmä-ßig Wasserpfeife rauchen, einem erhöh-ten Risiko für Lungenkrebs, Atemwegserkrankungen, Herz-Kreislauf-Krankheiten sowie Schädigungen der Mund-und Zahngesundheit [22].…”

Waterpipe tobacco smoking

“…There is a misperception that the water part of waterpipe equipment filters the tobacco tarr completely, thus presumably making this kind of smoking harmless. This is totally wrong and the scientific data show that it is at least as harmful as cigarette smoking (10). One session of waterpipe smoking lasts around one hour, and the users take very deep breaths compared to cigarette smoking while inhaling it.…”