The health risks of sharing hookahs may make you reconsider this habit

The practice to smoking hookahs (often called shisha) has been a tradition which started centuries ago in Persia. These water pipes allow tobacco to be heated up by burning charcoal of which the smoke is pulled through a metal body and a water bowl by the suction of the tip of a flexible hose. With an assortment of favours, the user who sucks on the tip of the flexible hose will inhale usually a large amount of smoke with a cooling sensation due to the process with water. This tradition has lived through centuries and has spread across many parts of the world and has become a popular pastime in countries such as ours. Although the vapour-like smoke carries a sweet and fragrant smell, smoking hookahs has been proven to cause many health issues and for those who enjoy sharing these pipes among friends, there could be even more risks than we are aware of. We’ll go through some of these concerns and how we can mitigate them.

Hookah smoke and Cancer

With the sprouting of many hookah cafes around, it has made hookah smoking easily accessible for youngsters in the city and many of them make it into a social pastime to share and enjoy a hookah session with friends. However much the smoke feels like fruity water vapour, it is still tobacco smoke and is more harmful than cigarettes as researchers have discovered. This is due to the carbon from the charcoal which is inhaled by taking deep breaths each puff. In hookah smoking, even after it has passed through water, it still contains high levels of toxic substances from the charcoal such as carbon monoxide and various traces of metal. As much as it seems fun, it is a cancer-causing habit which we should stay away from.

Infections from Pipe-sharing

Hookah smokers would have noticed the flexible pipes are washed and hung to dry before being fitted to for the next session of smoking. What smokers tend to conveniently forget is that the previous users although using different mouthpieces still share the same pipe which potentially carries a host of viruses and bacteria that are not easily washed away. When these pipes are simply rinsed with water, it could actually result in the growth of unwanted viruses and bacteria because they often thrive in wet and moist environments. Given enough time to grow before the next user comes along, they could contain multiple times the number of microorganisms that lead to all kinds of respiratory infections. Sharing of a hookah with friends seem to be a kind gesture but it is equally as harmful because the germs from our lungs and mouth are spread to each other even though it cannot be seen with our naked eyes. The most easily spread infection is the influenza which could worsen to become pneumonia and bronchitis. In severe cases, it could lead to lung failure which proves that sharing hookahs it is not a worthy practice no matter what.

Ridding of the Unavoidable Smoke

Socializing with friends is something we look forward to and is unavoidable that often during these sessions in public that we come into contact with cigarette or hookah smoke which we breathe in as second hand smoke and also bring traces of it on our clothes into our cars and our homes. It is indeed a relief if we are able to neutralist the threat before we contaminate our loved ones at home and using active oxygen can do just that. Using O3 and O-, active oxygen produced by Medklinn helps to eliminate 99.9% of all bacteria, viruses, and allergens including the toxicity and smell of smoke. Medklinn Air+Surface Sterilizers are affordable and convenient in ridding of the unavoidable smoke that latches onto our clothes while delivering a breath of fresh air of the same quality we find in the forests and nature. Get the Medklinn Autoplus from as low as RM13 a month for your car, and the Medklinn Asens+ from as low as RM16 a month which is highly portable making it the perfect companion for your travels.

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