Warning: Water Pipe Smoking Increases Risk For Cancer

Medical researchers discovered that young adults who regularly smoked hookah water pipes in bars are at risk of developing cancer and other kinds of illnesses.

Based on the study, elevated levels of cotinine, nicotine, tobacco-based cancer-causing agents and volatile organic compounds (VOC) were discovered in the urine samples of hookah smokers, University Herald reported.

For the study, researchers examined 55 healthy, experienced water pip smokers, ages 18 to 48 years. They were instructed to refrain from any type of smoking for a week.

At the end of this period they provided a “before” urine sample and smoked water pipes at a hookah bar of their choice in the San Francisco Bay area. Soon after the visit, they provided the “after” urine sample, and filled a form to provide detailed information on their smoking session including total time spent smoking, number of bowls smoked, and number of shared users. They also provided a first-voided urine sample the next morning, which helped researchers estimate the clearance of the tobacco-related chemicals of interest.

Researchers found that the elevated levels of nicotine, cotinine, and NNAL, which were detected immediately after the water pipe-smoking session, remained significantly elevated in the next-day urine samples, compared with the “before” samples: Nicotine was 10.4-fold higher; cotinine, 3.2-fold; and NNAL, 2.2-fold.

In the results, water pipe-smoking duration correlated significantly with the increase in post-exposure urine nicotine levels, and number of bowls smoked per person significantly correlated with the increase in post-exposure and next-day urine cotinine levels, respectively. The average increase in nicotine levels was comparable to levels obtained after smoking at least one cigarette, explained St.Helen.

Agencies/Canadajournal