- Restaurants and Beach Clubs
- Nightlife
- Hotels
- Car Rent and Sales
- Golf Clubs
- Beauty & Spa
- Clinics
- Shopping
- Schools
- Family Fun & Sports
- Sports & Tennis Clubs
- Art & Culture
- Post Offices
- Other
Smoking shisha: how bad is it for you?
05-05-2012
It is growing in popularity but some experts say a single shisha session is the same as smoking 200 cigarettes.
For Jawad Rezavi, 26, smoking shisha is the perfect way to unwind in an evening. "After a long day, I'll go to a shisha lounge. It relaxes me. In the same way that some people will enjoy a glass of red wine or need a cigarette to keep going while they're working, I like to enjoy my shisha. If I don't do it, it feels like I'm missing something."
Shisha, the origins of which are disputed (some say India, others Persia or Turkey) is a glass-bottomed water pipe in which fruit-flavoured tobacco is covered with foil and roasted with charcoal. The tobacco smoke passes through a water chamber and is inhaled deeply and slowly; the fruit-flavoured tobacco tastes smooth and smells sweet, enthusiasts say, making it an enjoyable and unrushed experience.
Rezavi, a student from London, tried his first shisha when he was 16. He began smoking regularly five years ago and helped his father establish a shisha cafe. The cafe closed down after the smoking ban came into effect in 2007, but Rezavi still smokes six times a week, either at home or at one of his favourite shisha bars with friends. "It's part of my routine. It's just nice to have it bubbling in the background when I'm studying."
And he's not alone. Usually shared between friends shisha is now associated with Middle Eastern cafe culture, but has become increasingly popular in the UK in recent years with cafes popping up in cities across the country. It's a phenomenon that has worried primary care trusts (PCTs) across the UK, which think that, unlike cigarette smokers, shisha users are unaware of the health risks.
Earlier this year, Leicester PCT's Stop Smoking service said it had seen an alarming rise in the number of teenagers in the city smoking shisha. And this summer, Birmingham's three PCTs will launch a city-wide tobacco control strategy, which includes increasing the awareness of shisha smoking. Meanwhile, the Niche Tobacco Advisory Group (NTAG) for North England recently introduced an educational campaign on shisha smoking.
Dr Khalid Anis, chairman of NTAG in Manchester, says: "There's a misconception that shisha is not as bad for you as cigarettes, because the tobacco is flavoured and passes through water first. But the carcinogens and nicotine are still there. So a regular shisha smoker can expect to be at risk to the similar health problems that cigarette smokers face, whether that's respiratory, heart disease or cancer. As with any other tobacco product, I expect regular shisha smokers will find it addictive, to the point that they may need it every day."
According to research carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the volume of smoke inhaled in an hour-long shisha session is estimated to be the equivalent of smoking between 100 and 200 cigarettes. The estimated findings go on to show that, on average, a smoker will inhale half a litre of smoke per cigarette, while a shisha smoker can take in anything from just under a sixth of a litre to a litre of smoke per inhale. But a niche tobacco expert from a London local authority suggests the WHO findings are"alarmist", pointing out that there's not yet been enough research into the long-term effects of shisha smoking. Dr Kamal Chaouachi, a tobacco expert who teaches at Paris IX University and has researched shisha for 15 years, says comparing shisha with cigarettes "amounts to comparing oranges to apples".
According to Chaouachi, studies led by independent researchers at the Royal University of Saudi Arabia have shown that shisha smoke is 30 times less concentrated in chemicals than cigarette smoke, contradicting the WHO's warnings. "It is ludicrous and anti-scientific to claim that hookah or shisha smoke is 200 times more toxic than cigarette smoke," he says. "While about 5,000 chemicals have been identified so far in cigarette smoke, chemists and pharmacologists from Saudi Arabia only found 142 chemicals in shisha smoke. Also, a medical team in Pakistan found that shisha smoke can be much less carcinogenic and radioactive than cigarette smoke."
In March, the BBC published a news story claiming that GPs in Leicester "are seeing an increase in teenagers with health problems linked to shisha pipe smoking". But Leicester PCT now says the story was erroneous; while it maintains the number of teenagers in the city smoking shisha is on the rise, it says GPs have not confirmed an increase in treating patients with health problems caused directly by shisha.
So, with all the conflicting evidence, are the health concerns around shisha just a load of hot air? "The research on shisha is admittedly limited," concedes Anis. "But I have to concur with the WHO. If you watch the way people smoke shisha, they take deliberate, deep breaths before exhaling so there is a lot of smoke being inhaled."
Rezavi is unconvinced by the arguments. "Sure, inhaling tobacco smoke, whether it's from shisha or cigarettes, is never going to be good for you," he says. "I know that, but at the end of the day it's just something I enjoy."
Source:www.guardian.co.uk
By: Tene Sommer

Annika Urm shared the stage with Gary Kasparov, Jay Abraham, Gabriel Macht, Dolph Lundgren, JT Foxx, Vince Vaughn, Moira Forbes, Hugh Hilton, Dr Phil at Mega Success Los Angeles

Maria Bravo support Artist Sacha Jafri to break Guinness Record as The Largest Art Canvas in the World & raise 30 million to charity

Join us at World Vision's 8th Annual Gala Dinner at Puente Romano Sea Grill Restaurant Marbella August 20, 2020

3-Michelin Stars Dani Garcia exclusive interview: he changed Andalusian kitchen & become food creation fashion icon @Marbella 2020

Rotary Club Mijas helps homeless, supports ADINTRE, Food Bank with increasing food problem, inviting volunteers to help @Mijas 2020

Novak Djokovic Loyal to Marbella, working with Angeles Munoz to get it as Center for Elite National & International Sports @Puente Romano 2020

Five Ways Intravenous (IV) Therapy in Marbella Can Boost Your Immunity @Marbella Vit&Drip Center 2020

Anantara Villa Padierna Palace, Aitor Perurena with 120 volunteers, prepare daily over 1000 food rations for people affected by COVID-19 @Marbella 2020

Dr. Kaye Ocean Clinic: Non-Healing Diabetic Foot Ulcer is Urgent and Needs Effective Treatment Immediately Marbella 2020

Health Coach Penny Foskaris Mission is To Help Overweight and Diabetes with Golden Stevia Los Angeles USA

i-Marbella gives back! Supporting over 60 charities and thousands of people in need in 2018 and 2019!

Dr. Kai Kaye, Yanela Brooks, Antonio Banderas, Elisabetta Franchi, Bally Singh, Tim Storey at TOP 10 i-Marbella interviews!

Grey’s Anatomy set and a pic with James Pickens Jr.! Annika’s 1st day at Los Angeles, USA – November 2019

Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, El Chiringuito, Döss Restaurant, Villa Padierna, Rotary Club made it to i-Marbella TOP 10 summer EVENTS 2019

Say Goodbye to Wrinkles and Restore volume to Lips and Cheeks with Botox & Fillers @Ocean Clinic Marbella 2019

Jennifer Lopez stayed 4 days before "It's my party" concert in Spain at Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Hotel August 2019

1000 people assisted to Johan Ernst Nilson’s TOWARDS NATURE - October 14th and 15th, 2019 @ Marbella
Read more

Málaga Christmas lights are on! @ Malaga November 24th 2017
Marbella CIT XVIII Business Awards November 24 of 2017 at Puente Romano Beach Resort & Spa


Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more

Please enter an email!
Please enter your password