As implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) accelerates and states seek to address risk factors for non-communicable disease more broadly, tension has increased between the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and public health. For example, Indonesia recently brought a successful claim against a U.S. law that prohibits cigarettes...

As future physicians capable of controlling tobacco dependence in the population, medical students are considered a main target for tobacco control interventions. This cross-sectional study reported on the prevalence of tobacco use (cigarettes and waterpipes) and associated knowledge and behaviour among 6th-year medical students in 2009-2010 from 6 medical schools in Lebanon. The self-administe...

conclusions the present study reports the characteristics of iranian hookah smokers. most hookah smokers were educated young adults, who often smoked at home or in teahouses and in the company of friends. the majority of the participants smoked fruit-flavored tobacco and had no desire or intention to quit smoking. further studies in this field are required and hookah smoking should also be inco...

BACKGROUND Waterpipe smoking is becoming popular among western students. The aim was to understand the appeal to students of this form of smoking when other forms of smoking are becoming less common. METHODS Waterpipe smokers were identified by snowball sampling and interviewed following a semi-structured schedule in waterpipe cafes and in their homes. Constant comparative analysis was used t...

An increasing prevalence of smoking in Jordan has been noted and this necessitates understanding the social behaviours that have lead to this habit. This cross-sectional, descriptive study determined the prevalence of smoking among Jordanians in relation to demographics with a focus on 4 types of tobacco products-cigarettes, waterpipes, cigars and pipes. A population sample of 3196 adults aged ...

Carbon monoxide poisoning has been reported as a result of exposure to various sources of smoke, such as car exhaust fumes, home water heaters and tobacco smoke. We describe a case of symptomatic, moderately severe carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in a young Mediterranean man after smoking a waterpipe, or shisha. This case highlights the importance of considering carbon monoxide exposure in patie...

Tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure are among the most important health threats to children, adolescents, and adults. There is no safe level of tobacco smoke exposure. The developing brains of children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the development of tobacco and nicotine dependence. Tobacco is unique among consumer products in that it causes disease and death when used exact...

Background: There is an increasing popularity of waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) in youth and even inathletes worldwide. Despite the existence of evidence of the harmful effects of hookah smoke on varioussystems of the body, especially the cardiovascular system, its simultaneous effect with exercise training hasnot been well studi...

Results Twenty-four studies were eligible for this review. Based on the available evidence, waterpipe tobacco smoking was significantly associated with lung cancer [odds ratio (OR)1⁄4 2.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.32–3.42], respiratory illness (OR1⁄4 2.3; 95% CI 1.1–5.1), low birth-weight (OR1⁄4 2.12; 95% CI 1.08–4.18) and periodontal disease (OR1⁄4 3–5). It was not significantly associa...