Hookah smoking is rapidly increasing in popularity in the United States, particularly among urban youth, college students, and young professionals. The most common prevalence is among ages 18–24 y. Alarmingly, some studies suggest there is significant use among middle and high school students as well.1 Hookahs are water pipes that are used to smoke tobacco heated by charcoal. Hookah tobacco com...

BACKGROUND Establishments dedicated to hookah tobacco smoking recently have proliferated and helped introduce hookah use to U.S. communities. PURPOSE To conduct a comprehensive, qualitative assessment of websites promoting these establishments. METHODS In June 2009, a systematic search process was initiated to access the universe of websites representing major hookah tobacco smoking establi...

We studied the carbon monoxide (CO) fractions in hookah and cigarette smoke, using a carbon monoxide micro smokerlyzer (model EC50, BEDFONT, U.K.). Mean carbon monoxide fractions (% by volume) of hookah smoke, using domestic charcoal were 0.38 +/- 0.07 (large hookah; unfiltered); 1.40 +/- 0.43 (small hookah; unfiltered); 0.34 +/- 0.06 (large hookah; filtered); 1.36 +/- 0.35 (small hookah; filte...

BACKGROUND The emergence of hookah is being noted on college campuses and in large U.S. cities and evidence points to an increasing trend for college students. The purpose of this study was to assess hookah use and identify associations with cigarette smoking and demographic factors. METHODS An intercept sampling method was used at various locations on a large university campus in the southea...

Hookah smoking is growing in popularity among college-age students in the United States. Community-based, semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 college-age individuals who had used a hookah to smoke tobacco. A structured analysis of responses was conducted and framed in terms of the health belief model's four main constructs. Although hookah smokers were aware of the potent...

BACKGROUND Benzene is a human hematotoxicant and a leukemogen that causes lymphohematopoietic cancers, especially acute myelogenous leukemia. We investigated uptake of benzene in hookah smokers and non-smokers attending hookah social events in naturalistic settings where hookah tobacco was smoked exclusively. METHODS We quantified S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), a metabolite of benzene, in t...

BACKGROUND Hookah pipe smoking is a social practice and has gained popularity, especially among South African youth. The extent of this practice among health sciences students, and their knowledge regarding the health risks, are unknown. This is important, as these students will become future health professionals possibly influencing the practice of individuals and communities. OBJECTIVE To e...

BACKGROUND Hookah smoking has increased worldwide, especially among young people. OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of hookah use and related factors in a sample of Iranian students of medical sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1992 randomly selected sample of students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences during...

INTRODUCTION Hookah smoking has seen a reemergence in popularity in the last 30 years, particularly in the young urban population. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of and the attitude and beliefs about hookah smoking of people with a medical background and compare it with people from a non-medical background. MATERIALS AND METHODS An anonymous questionnaire with ten questions about ...

Background: An increase in hookah smoking is considered to be a serious health problem in societies with different cigarette smoking patterns. Thus, determinants of increase in this behavior are needed to be identified. This study aimed to review the articles related to the causes of hookah smoking in the society.Methods: This study reviewed the scientific references of authentic databases and ...