Breaking It Down
What Is It?
A hookah, also called a waterpipe or shisha, is an oriental tobacco pipe with one or more tubes that draws the smoke through water contained in a bowl.
How Does It Work?
Hookah users inhale through a mouthpiece, drawing air over charcoal and through the pipe to heat the tobacco and create tobacco smoke
This smoke is pulled down the hookah into the bowl, which is filled with water
The smoke passes through the water and is inhaled by users through the hose and mouthpiece
Is It Safe?
TOXIC: No matter the flavor or if the smoke passes through water, hookah smoke is just as toxic as cigarette smoke. Hookah has 36 times more tar and 8 times more carbon monoxide than cigarettes. A typical one-hour hookah session contains smoke equivalent to 100-200 cigarettes.
ADDICTIVE: Hookah IS tobacco, which means that it is also addictive. Hookah contains nicotine, just like cigarettes.
GROSS: Sharing a hookah mouthpiece can spread infections and oral herpes.
