We usually have several questions on the overall impact of shisha tobacco whenever we consume it in bars, restaurants, or privately.
In as much as we perceive the smoking of shisha hookah or waterpipe smoking as a fun and social activity, we have to be fully aware of the impact it has on our bodies.
What is Shisha Tobacco?
Shisha tobacco is made from tobacco leaves, molasses or honey, glycerin, and flavorings and we consume it by burning it inside a water pipe or hookah. This waterpipe is composed of a bowl to contain the shisha tobacco, a water chamber with a hose, and a smoking mouthpiece.
You can find shisha tobacco sweetened using various flavors with the popular ones with users being mint, fruit, and dessert flavors. Smokers participating in a typical shisha session take smoke that is passed through the water, which they believe is less threatening than inhaling tobacco directly.
Health Effects of Shisha
Although shisha tobacco is considered safer to smoke than cigarettes, the findings show that its continual use comes with several health challenges and hazards. To better understand how it impacts our health, we will examine its relationship with various areas of health.
· Health of Lungs
Since we smoke shisha by inhaling it, this means that it has a direct impact on the health of the lungs and may damage it. Shisha tobacco when burned emits some toxic elements such as carbon monoxide, tar, and heavy metals that when inhaled in the lungs are dangerous.
Regular use of these toxins can lead to chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and lower levels of lung efficiency. Shisha smoke also has another ultrafine particle that affects the deeper parts of the lungs thus causing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other related diseases.
· Heart Health
It has been proven that continuous smoking of shisha can negatively impact the health of your heart. During a shisha session, a smoker inhales more carbon monoxide than from normal cigarette smoking which leads to high blood pressure, low oxygen, and elevated heartbeat.
Such conditions normally place great stress on the cardiovascular system. Exposure to such environments over time regularly raises the risks of having heart attacks, high blood pressure, and even a stroke.
· Possibility Of Certain Cancers
Similar to cigarettes, shisha tobacco comprises carcinogens, which are cancer-causing substances. Extensive studies indicate that shisha smoking is linked with cancers such as lung cancer, mouth cancer, throat cancer, or bladder cancer.
The use of flavored shisha also exposes the users to various carcinogenic risks. This is because heating the flavonoids and other volatile chemical compounds they contain gives rise to other dangerous compounds.
· Effect On Other Body Organs
It is evident that the effects of tobacco shisha are not just confined to the heart and lungs but that other organs are equally affected. For instance, chronic use of shisha tobacco exposes the liver and kidneys to toxins that harm them and strain their efforts to filter the toxins out.
Another negative impact of shisha tobacco is its tendency to weaken the general immune system of the body. This reduces the body’s ability to fight various diseases and its recovery rate from such diseases.
· Risks of Other Infections
Being that shisha tobacco smoking is a shared activity, there are even more health risks that are associated with such sessions.Many people take turns using shisha pipes; if they are not well-cleaned, they can transfer bacteria or viruses between the users.
This means they can easily transmit TB, hepatitis, herpes, and other respiratory diseases such as flu. Additionally, if you don’t clean the water chamber and regularly replace the water, it accumulates dirt from the pipes and can breed pathogens.
· Possible Addiction
Shisha tobacco is laced with nicotine, the unique compound that is present in all tobacco products. Due to the social nature of shisha smoking sessions, the users may ignore the addictive dangers it has but they can get hooked.
This means that regular users of shisha can easily get addicted to it and continuously use it at a higher frequency. This means that they are more exposed to the dangerous components that are present in the shisha smoke.
Socio-Economic Effects of Shisha Tobacco
Apart from the health effects that are manifested by indulging in shisha tobacco smoking, there are also socio-economic effects. The regular and chronic use of shisha entails spending a lot of money to finance such sessions that are either done at expensive lounges or home.
Shisha tobacco and related expenses may contribute to the user’s expenditure in very large amounts. Furthermore, the maintenance cost of most health complications arising from shisha tobacco smoking is usually very high.
The treatment of respiratory diseases and cardiovascular complications exerts financial pressure on the individual and treatment pressure on the health facility. Additionally, having several shisha lounges and cafes in a community may pose a health problem since smoking will be rampant.
Such places may put non-smokers at the receiving end of second-hand smokewhich can cause health problems to the general population. This means that its impact goes beyond those who do not necessarily indulge in any shisha tobacco smoking sessions.
Misconceptions about Shisha Tobacco
There are several misconceptions and myths about the use of shisha that encourage people to use it while dismissing the probable risks that come with it. Let us have a look at some of these misconceptions and their impact:
- The water filters out undesirable particles and harmful substances: the water can dampen and cool down the smoke but does not remove poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide or heavy metals from the smoke. This means that you can still inhale various dangerous substances into your lungs.
- Shisha is not nearly as addictive as cigarettes: shisha contains nicotine which is proven to be a substance harmful to our human bodies. At times, a single shisha session can serve more nicotine than a single cigarette hence promoting dependency.
- Flavored shisha is the least damaging to your health: flavored shisha tobacco is still harmful and comes with several additional toxic elements. Flavor enhancers also yield dangerous compounds when burnt.
- As opposed to cigarettes, shisha smoke does not have a direct impact on the lungs: shisha smoke gets to the lungs in the same way as cigarette smoke and can deposit deep into lung tissue impacting your health.
FAQs
1. Is Non-Tobacco Shisha Bad for You?
Yes, it is because it contains unhealthy components such as carbon monoxide from the burning of charcoal and glycerin, which harms the lungs.
2. Is Shisha Worse than Smoking Cigarettes?
The substances inhaled in both are dangerous to human health, but in shisha smoking, the sessions take longer and one may inhale more toxins than a single cigarette.
3. What are the Advantages of Shisha Tobacco?
Although it gives people the social pleasure and leisure t many people, shisha tobacco has no health qualities and its use should be limited.
Conclusion
There are many social and flavor-associated “benefits” of shisha tobacco but it comes with a fair share of health risks including lung and cardiovascular complications. There is also the high risk of various cancers and the probability of getting addicted. The knowledge of all the health effects of shisha tobacco may greatly aid you in your decision-making of its usage.
More resources:
Hookah Use – Source: CDC
Facts about Hookah – Source: American Lung Association
Is Hookah Smoking better than Cigarette – Source: MAYOCLINIC
