|
 In a new policy statement, the American Heart Association warns that
hookah use is gaining in popularity among young people, aided by the
marketing of flavored tobacco as well as social media marketing
targeted to teens and young adults. The trend is troubling because
even though teens may perceive hookah as harmless, there's mounting
evidence that it affects heart rate, blood pressure, and blood
vessel function even with short-term use, the AHA notes.
"There is clear evidence that hookah smoking has significant
cardiovascular effects and that could result in exposure to toxic
chemicals at concentrations even higher than those in cigarettes,"
said lead author of the AHA statement Aruni Bhatnagar, director of
the American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation Center and a
professor at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
"There is also evidence to suggest that even intermittent use of
hookah can be addictive and hookah smoking could be a catalyst for
the use of other nicotine product use, particularly cigarette
smoking," Bhatnagar said by email.
Based on this evidence, parents should make sure teens understand
the risks of hookah use, Bhatnagar advised. And doctors who treat
adolescents and young adults should ask about it at every checkup
and make sure these patients understand hookah can be addictive and
cause health problems down the line.
An estimated 4.3 percent of all U.S. adults have used hookah at
least once, researchers report in the AHA statement in Circulation.
Hookah is far more common among younger adults, however, with 13.6
percent of people ages 18 to 24 reporting at least occasional use.
Young adults account for about 56 percent of hookah users
nationwide, according to the AHA statement.
Most users believe hookah is less harmful than cigarettes, with a
low probability of addiction, the AHA notes. While it may not have
the same health effects of cigarettes, addiction is certainly
possible with hookah after even short-term use.
A separate study in the Journal of Adolescent Health highlights one
risk of hookah that may not be apparent to teens: the potential for
carbon monoxide poisoning.
[to top of second column] |
In this study, researchers examined data on hookah incidents
reported to poison control centers between 2001 and 2017. They found
276 poisonings involving hookah, most involving children, teens and
young adults.
Carbon monoxide is produced by burning of charcoal and heating
tobacco, said lead study author Brian Rostron of the Center for
Tobacco Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in
Calverton, Maryland.
"People can be exposed through inhaling hookah smoke or through
secondhand exposure," Rostron said by email. "Carbon monoxide
exposure can lead to effects such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting,
seizures, and even death."
These risks may occur even with occasional use, which is common with
young hookah users, said Benjamin Chaffee of the Center for Tobacco
Control Research and Education at the University of California, San
Francisco.
"Just one session of hookah smoking can result in breathing in very
high levels of some really noxious chemicals," Chaffee, who wasn't
involved in the study, said by email.
Breathing carbon monoxide impairs the ability of the blood to carry
oxygen, which can be a serious problem even with occasional use,
Chaffee noted.
"The burning charcoal produces a great deal of carbon monoxide and
polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and levels can easily exceed those in
cigarette smoke," Chaffee said. "There's also a great deal of second
hand smoke in a hookah bar or lounge."
SOURCES: http://bit.ly/2Ch1jEK Circulation, online March 8, 2019,
and http://bit.ly/2CgQoL7 Journal of Adolescent Health, online March
7, 2019.
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
