Isn't smoking hookah healthier than cigarettes? Taiwan Health Promotion Administration refutes: Smoke inhalation may double the risk of cancer!
healthorn expert Q&A
Q: Inhaling smoke and “formaldehyde” may double the risk of cancer! What should you do to prevent air pollution from causing cancer?
A: There are many threats to the air in your home. In addition to smoking and burning incense, the easily overlooked “carcinogen formaldehyde” is the main source of indoor air pollution. The boards, sofas, mattresses, and curtains used for decoration will emit a large amount of formaldehyde, further causing the indoor formaldehyde to exceed the standard. Especially for women, children and people prone to allergies, if they live in a space with excessive formaldehyde for a long time, it will increase the frequency of allergies and skin inflammation, and may lead to female infertility, childhood leukemia, cancer and other symptoms.
To solve the problem of formaldehyde poisoning, it is recommended to seek formal formaldehyde removal companies to carry out indoor formaldehyde removal projects. Long-term formaldehyde removal projects usually take more than 3 days to recycle formaldehyde deep inside furniture and decorations using standard construction methods. And effectively decomposes to ensure that the formaldehyde concentration in the space is lower than the safe value for a long time. When selecting a manufacturer, special attention should be paid to choosing a manufacturer with a long-term warranty to ensure healthy and non-toxic indoor air quality for a long time and reduce the risk of cancer.
Is smoking hookah healthier than cigarettes? The amount of smoke inhaled is 200 times that of cigarettes?
Is hookah smoking, which has become popular among young people in recent years, healthier than cigarettes, paper cigarettes or e-cigarettes? Is hookah really harmless to the body? Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, Health Promotion Administration clarified that both hookah and paper cigarettes use “tobacco”, which is harmful to health. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the common main component of hookah is tobacco. When heated, fuels such as wood residue and charcoal are used to produce gases containing large amounts of carbon monoxide, metals, and carcinogenic chemicals.
Taiwan Health Promotion Administration pointed out that during a typical one-hour use of hookah, the amount of smoke inhaled by the user is 100-200 times that of a single cigarette, which will also cause acute and long-term harm to the respiratory tract and cardiovascular system, and may increase Coronary artery disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk. In addition, second-hand smoke produced by hookah is a mixture of tobacco smoke and fuel. In addition to posing serious health risks to the inhaler, children and pregnant women may also be affected.
Can hookah pipes easily spread tuberculosis virus? Regular smoking may increase the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease
Most people who use water pipes think that using water pipes is healthier than paper cigarettes. However, studies have shown that people who use paper cigarettes or hookah are exposed to toxic substances, and hookah use can still produce harmful substances such as tar, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, etc., which can cause cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Risk of disease.
Hookah users often share mouthpieces and hoses, especially in social settings. Most businesses may not clean the equipment after each use of the hookah because cleaning the equipment is laborious and time-consuming, increasing the risk of spreading infectious diseases. possibility. The WHO also pointed out that waterpipe users gather in social groups and share pipes, making it easier for respiratory-related viruses (such as tuberculosis and influenza) to spread from person to person.
The Taiwan Health Promotion Administration explains that studies have found that hookah use produces many harmful substances, such as tar, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as risks of respiratory infections, cancer, lung disease, and other diseases. If the industry specifically advertises hookah without nicotine substances, users are more likely to take large puffs, resulting in the risk of more carbon monoxide exposure in the blood, which in turn may cause damage to heart function.
Can hookah smoke be purified through moisture? Taiwan Health Promotion Administration refutes: There is no evidence to confirm
Waterpipe users often have little knowledge of the health hazards of waterpipe pipes or think they are less harmful; for example, they often mistakenly believe that waterpipe smoke will be purified by water; however, waterpipe pipes are not a substitute for paper cigarettes, and there is no evidence that their devices or accessories Can reduce harm to users. In addition, most hookahs are flavored with spices, and cigarette manufacturers will also deliberately add sweet smells such as floral, fruity, and honey to reduce the rejection of hookah by first-time users and make it easier to shorten the time of addiction.
According to the results of the National Health Agency’s 2022 Survey on Smoking and Health Behavior of College Students, it was found that 5.0% of college students have ever used hookah, which is higher than 3.6% in 2020 and 1.8% in 2018. The National Health Department calls on young people to protect their own health and not to try it easily out of curiosity or peer pressure. Using hookah is also harmful to health and they should avoid any form of smoking.
Further reading:
Are e-cigarettes healthier? Don’t be stupid, just smoking will make you “unable to get hard”!
