Is hookah harmful to health

The benefits and harms of a hookah is a matter that causes a lot of controversy. To understand this topic, it is necessary to study in detail the effect of the hookah on the body.

What is hookah

Hookah is an unusual and very stylish device originally from India, designed for smoking wet tobacco with aromatic impurities. The device consists of several parts:

• bowls;
• filter shafts;
• flasks with water;
• pipe through which direct smoking is carried out.

The hookah works as follows: first, a smoking mixture is ignited in a bowl. Warm smoke from this mixture goes down the shaft tube, leaving some of the harmful heavy substances on its walls. The lower end of the shaft goes under water, so the smoke undergoes additional cleaning with water. As a result, the smoke rises through the water and enters the tube, which departs from the flask wall above the liquid level, and is drawn in by the smoker.

Hookahs are commercially available. They are often found on the menus of bars and restaurants. There are even special establishments - hookah bars. The main fans of the smoking device are young people under 35, who are keenly interested in fashionable and unusual devices.

What the hookah mix consists of

In the bowl of the device, it is customary to kindle not ordinary dry tobacco, but a wet mixture. It always consists of several components:

• directly tobacco - strong or weak, coarse, medium or fine cuts;
• sugar syrup - it is he who serves as the main moisturizer for tobacco;
• flavorings - they can be synthetic or identical to natural, responsible for the smell and taste of the mixture;
• glycerin - with the help of this component, the amount of smoke from the ignited mixture is regulated, since smoke puffs are an important aesthetic and practical part of smoking;
• preservatives - thanks to them, the wet mixture can be stored for a long time and at the same time retain its properties.

The components are distributed in an unequal ratio - approximately 20% of the mixture is taken up by tobacco, the remaining 80% are given to auxiliary components.

Is hookah good for you

A smoking device is considered to be much less harmful than regular cigarettes. Indeed - there are no carcinogenic resins in hookah mixes, and nicotine is only about 0.5%. But is there any real health benefit from hookah?

The most valuable property of a device is its relaxing effect. Inhaling fragrant smoke has a calming effect on the nervous system, helps to distract from disturbing thoughts and relieve physical stress.

In addition, sometimes hookah is used as an inhaler, igniting not an ordinary smoking mixture in it, but moist medicinal herbs. Such use cannot be considered targeted, but, of course, there is no question of harm in this case, but useful properties can be very significant.

Is it harmful to smoke hookah

Despite the fact that the device has useful properties, the hookah is harmful - and quite large. What exactly is it?

1. Not all hazardous substances formed during the smoldering of wet tobacco settle on the walls of the shaft and at the bottom of the flask. Approximately 60% of harmful substances enter the lungs of the smoker.
2. Most blends contain nicotine. Despite the fact that its volume is only about 0.5%, it should be borne in mind that hookah is smoked much longer than an ordinary cigarette - about 40 minutes versus 2-3 minutes. Accordingly, even more nicotine enters the body than in the course of ordinary smoking.
3. Any mixtures, regardless of composition, contain additional harmful substances: lead and arsenic in small doses, carcinogenic aromatic carbohydrates, volatile aldehydes and nitrosamines, carbon monoxide. All these components enter the human body and cause harm.

Effects on the cardiovascular system

Hookah does less harm to blood vessels and heart than cigarettes, but its properties are still quite dangerous. With constant use of the device, people sooner or later face the standard problems of smokers - atherosclerosis, hypertension, angina pectoris, ischemia.

Effects on vision

The benefits and harms of hookah smoking are reflected in the health of the eyes. The heavy aromatic smoke irritates the mucous membranes and can cause unpleasant diseases.

1. With constant smoking of aromatic mixtures, people often face inflammation of the eye vessels - uveitis.
2. Another side effect for the visual system is xerophthalmia, which manifests itself as red eyes and severe itching.

Effects on the lungs

Human lungs are most vulnerable to smoking, since they are the ones that take in harmful substances. And the hookah does light damage just like regular cigarettes. Since the smoke, by no means, does not lose its dangerous properties after passing through the mine and liquid. In the process of filtration, the smoking mixture is purified by only 40%, the remaining 60% of harmful components enter the body. At the same time, the ciliated epithelium of the pulmonary system is inhibited and the walls of the bronchi are irritated, which can lead not only to chronic bronchitis, but also to oncological diseases.

Effect on the throat

In the process of combustion and decay, smoking mixtures release substances that irritate the mucous membranes of the throat. Negatively affects mucous membranes and low-quality tobacco. Filling the flask with alcohol instead of pure water does no good to the body. It is not uncommon for smokers to use this method to enhance the relaxing effect.

Long-term smoking causes sore throat and coughing. Fans of exotic smoking devices often have a coarse voice, the body's resistance to colds falls.

Influence on potency

Most men are well aware of the negative effect of conventional cigarettes on potency. But few people think that the constant use of a hookah has a similar negative effect.

Nicotine and other harmful substances in the composition of smoking mixtures worsen the condition of blood vessels. Over time, this affects the reproductive system, and men are faced with a weakening of potency, with erectile dysfunction. The harm from hookah for men is that the ability to conceive a child deteriorates.

Hookah addiction

The main and dangerous property of classic cigarettes is the rapid onset of strong addiction. Many people think that aromatic mixtures are not addictive, the harm and benefits of hookah, according to doctors, are often considered approximately equal. In reality, however, the situation is different.

Since when using the device, nicotine still enters the body, addiction is formed over time. Another thing is that it happens more slowly. And it can be difficult to recognize addiction.Hookah lovers for a long time continue to think that they are experiencing not physical, but psychological cravings for inhaling aromatic smoke.

Hookah poisoning symptoms

Another danger of an exotic device is that fragrant smoke is very easy to poison. Intoxication can arise from smoking for too long, from using a poor-quality mixture, or due to the weakened health of the smoker himself at a particular point in time. But the symptoms of poisoning in all cases will be the same:

• nausea;
• heaviness in the head, tinnitus, headache;
• weakness in the whole body;
• unpleasant sore throat;
• congestion of blood to the head;
• redness of the eyes and skin.

If signs of intoxication appear, you should immediately stop using the hookah, go to another room or into the fresh air, unbutton your tight clothes and drink hot tea with lemon.

Is it possible to smoke a hookah during pregnancy

Since the properties of the hookah are mistakenly considered harmless, many women are sure that it is still possible to use the device even while carrying a child.

This is not so - the harm from a hookah for girls is so great that during pregnancy, hookah smoking must be stopped completely. Better yet, refuse to inhale fragrant smoke at the planning stage of the child, so that the body has time to cleanse itself of all harmful substances.

Nicotine and other negative properties of hookah have a detrimental effect on the developing fetus, and can cause the formation of congenital abnormalities and chronic ailments in a child.

Contraindications

The benefits of a hookah are extremely small, but it does enough harm. But healthy people who wish to smoke hookah can use it. With some ailments and conditions, it is necessary to completely and permanently abandon an exotic device, since its properties will be deadly.

Hookah smoking is contraindicated:

• during pregnancy;
• during lactation;
• if you are allergic to any of the components of hookah mixes;
• with severe diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
• with ailments of the respiratory tract;
• with a cold.

How to smoke properly so as not to harm health

Hookah cannot bring benefits alone, but if you follow several rules, you can balance the harm and benefits of hookah for the human body.

1. The duration of a smoking session should not be more than 40-60 minutes.
2. Puffs should not be frequent and very deep - it is better to smoke slowly, enjoying the taste.
3. It is worth pampering yourself with aromatic smoking no more than a couple of times a month - then nicotine addiction will not form, and the harm will be minimal.
4. It is better to choose mixes for hookah of the highest quality, from well-known brands, even if they cost more - their properties are less dangerous.
5. After each use, the flask, shaft and hookah mouthpiece must be thoroughly rinsed so that harmful substances do not accumulate on the walls.

What's more harmful: hookah or cigarettes

Although the properties of the smoking device provide very little benefit to the body, hookah remains less harmful than classic cigarettes.

First of all, when a hookah mixture smolders, much less carcinogenic substances are formed than when a cigarette is burned. After all, the main harm during ordinary smoking is brought by the decay products of resins and wrapping paper, and in wet mixtures there is neither one nor the other.

In addition, hookah smoke undergoes a fairly high-quality cleaning, even if it does not become 100% harmless.Wet formulas contain much less nicotine than cigarettes. And finally, even the most ardent hookah fans use it much less often than cigarette smokers. Therefore, the benefits and harms of hookah for human health are very different for the better from the harm of ordinary cigarettes.

Is hookah without nicotine harmful?

Many people believe that the harm of a smoking device can be reduced to zero by using mixtures without nicotine. In fact, such smoking will not be safe anyway - even nicotine-free hookah contains acetaldehyde and aromatic carbohydrates, which are harmful to health and do not bring any benefit.

Conclusion

The benefits and harms of a hookah are not equal to each other - a smoking device, in any case, damages health. However, with careful use, harm can be minimized.