Hookah

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, hookah is defined as a water pipe. The below picture shows a basic example and the parts of a hookah water pipe. 

(photo from www.cdc.gov)

The tobacco used in hookah is called shisha. Shisha is a moist, sticky tobacco that comes in a variety of flavor. The shisha is heated and burned in the head of the hookah by charcoal. The smoke from the burning shisha and charcoal then travels down the length of the body into the water bowl where the smoke is cooled. A hookah user inhales through the mouthpiece and the cooled smoke travels through the hose and mouth piece into the users lungs.

Because the smoke enters a water bowl before the user inhales people believe smoking hookah is a safe alternative to smoking traditional cigars or cigarettes and the smoke is "filtered" through the water. When in reality the water only cools the smoke, making it easier to inhale.

Smoking hookah is extremely harmful for the lungs. A World Health Organization report showed that about an hour of smoking hookah is as bad for our health as smoking 5 packs of cigarettes (100 cigarettes). And if that isn't scary enough, we've seen a huge increase in the amount of youth and young adults using hookah.

Studies done in the past years have increasing popularity of hookah, 40% of college students have ever smoked hookah. Hookah appeals to young people in a way that is different from traditional tobacco like cigarettes and cigars.

Tobacco Free Florida shared this great, myth busting infographic on hookah smoking based on a survey done by the University of South Florida.

For more information about hookah check out the links below:

The CDC Fact Sheet on Hookah

These expert answers from the Mayo Clinic

The recent articles from Tech Times or Medical Daily