Is hookah dangerous? As dangerous as cigarettes? Does smoking hookah cause addiction? A few facts and expert comments that parents who are concerned about their growing child’s new habit may find useful.
18+
This ritual attracts teenagers: in a relaxing atmosphere, the hookah mouthpiece is passed from hand to hand like an Indian peace pipe. But there are facts that they and parents should be aware of.
“Unlike cigarettes, the image of which today is rather negative, a hookah for a teenager is a status attribute, a symbol of a successful, adult person,” explains age psychologist Yuri Frolov. “And the desire to get this new experience is so great that teenagers are simply not ready to delve into whether it is dangerous or not.”
Parents, on the contrary, are afraid of the hookah – they confuse this mixture of tobacco and molasses with marijuana. But it is really unsafe: the smoke contains nicotine, carbon monoxide and heavy metals.
“Manufacturers maintain the image of hookah smoking as a refined art that has absorbed the traditions and philosophy of the East,” says psychiatrist and narcologist Olga Speranskaya. – At the same time, tobacco blends are flavored with pleasant additives, but manufacturers do not indicate their true composition. And spot checks often show the presence in them of psychoactive substances that disrupt the functioning of the central nervous system. And by the way, hookah lovers quickly develop tobacco addiction.”
What can parents do when they notice their son or daughter’s interest in smoking hookah?
“Nothing can be forbidden to a 15–17-year-old person,” Yuri Frolov is convinced, “any pressure will have the opposite effect. Try not to lose contact with the child, listen to him and negotiate. Ask an authoritative person for him (brother, teacher, coach) to talk about the dangers of hookah.
Here are the facts that could become arguments*.
- The content of nicotine in cigarette tobacco and hookah tobacco is almost the same.
- Hookah “filtered” smoke significantly exceeds cigarette smoke in terms of the content of toxic substances that cause irreversible changes in the liver, kidneys, and nerve cells.
- If the same mouthpiece passes from mouth to mouth, then there is a risk of contracting coronavirus, tuberculosis, hepatitis or herpes through saliva.
Remind the teenager of his responsibility to his non-smoking friends and that he himself could have greater control over his own freedom, which includes the ability to resist both the addictive habit and the manipulation of tobacco manufacturers.
* «Drug and Alcohol Dependence», 2004, vol. 76; Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2005, vol. 43; Thomson Reuters Foundation, trust.org.