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HHS HealthBeat

(December 25, 2009)

Throwing cold water on the waterpipes

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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

There is no healthy way to use tobacco, only unhealthy ones. And if you think waterpipes are some kind of exception, think again.

At Virginia Commonwealth University, Thomas Eissenberg compared carbon monoxide, nicotine and smoke levels in 31 people after they smoked a cigarette and after they used a waterpipe.

[Thomas Eissenberg speaks] "When they were smoking a waterpipe, we saw three times the carbon monoxide, 1.7 times the nicotine and 48 times the smoke, so there were dramatic differences."

The smoke is worth noting because there are lots of cancer-causing chemicals in it. Eissenberg says the idea that the water somehow filters the smoke is just wrong.

The study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

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