Jump to full article: Reuters, 2007-03-15
Author: Aziz El-Kaissouni
Intro: A single session smoking Egypt's popular shisha waterpipes yields a nicotine intake equivalent to more than one pack of cigarettes, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
Many Egyptians smoke shisha in the belief that forcing the smoke through the pipes' water container filters out some of the toxins in the nicotine. Not so, according to Hussein Gezairy, Regional Director for the World Health Organization.
"There's been a widespread false belief for decades now that shishas are less harmful and addictive than cigarettes," Gezairy said at a news conference announcing the release of the first report on the hazards of smoking Egypt's ubiquitous waterpipes.
But shisha smoke retained all the carcinogens of cigarette smoke while adding more carbon monoxide and a separate set of carcinogens from the use of burning coals to keep the nicotine flowing, coupled with the risk of infection with tuberculosis or hepatitis from shared mouthpieces, Gezairy said.
"A regular user of waterpipe...smokes 2-3 sessions per day. This translates into intake of nicotine equivalent to more than one pack of cigarettes per session for most waterpipe smokers," the study said.
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