One in 4 high school seniors now try smoking water pipes
Despite declines in the number of youths who smoke cigarettes, hookah or water pipe use continues to rise among Canadian youth, a new study from the University of Waterloo reports. Published Monday in Cancer Causes and Control, the study found that almost one in four high school seniors try smoking hookah.
The study estimates that more than 78,200 youth are current water pipe users.
“While we can celebrate a continued slow decline in cigarette use across the country, water pipes are bucking the trend,” said Leia Minaker, a scientist at the Propel Centre for Population Health Research at the University of Waterloo, who conducted the study funded by the Canadian Cancer Society.
Water pipes work by bubbling tobacco smoke through water, leading many users to believe that they carry less risk than cigarettes. The study, which analyzed data from the national 2012-2013 Youth Smoking Survey, found that over a third of youth believe it is less harmful to smoke tobacco in a water pipe than smoking a cigarette.
“The idea that water pipes are somehow less harmful than cigarettes is a dangerous misperception,” said Minaker. “Since most water pipe smoking sessions last much longer than a cigarette, water pipe smokers may absorb higher concentrations of the same toxins as in cigarette smoke.”
Water pipes join a growing number of products marketed to youth using flavoured tobacco. The survey found that among students who reported using water pipes, about half used flavoured products.
“The tobacco industry continues to add candy, fruit and other flavours to tobacco products to attract young people. Restricting flavours in tobacco products is an important part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy,” Minaker said.
Several countries have banned indoor water pipe smoking, including Lebanon, Turkey, and parts of Saudi Arabia and India, where water pipe smoking is a cultural activity. In Canada, Nova Scotia, Alberta and at least 12 municipalities have adopted legislation to prohibit any water pipe smoking in public places where smoking is banned.
The study also found that water pipe use increases significantly by grade, with boys more likely than girls to try hookah during their high school years. Youth with higher amounts of weekly spending money have significantly higher odds of using water pipes. About 14 per cent of grades 9 to 12 students in Canada have tried water pipes, up from 10 per cent in 2010.
“We want to be able to say with confidence that all kids in Canada can grow up tobacco free. One third of all cancers caused by tobacco use, and this type of tobacco use is growing among Canadian kids. Why wouldn’t we put restrictions in place to protect youth from all types of tobacco use?” said Minaker.
Hookahs are water pipes that are used to smoke specially made tobacco that comes in different flavors, such as apple, mint, cherry, chocolate, coconut, licorice, cappuccino, and watermelon.
Although many users think it is less harmful, hookah smoking has many of the same health risks as cigarette smoking.
Hookah is also called narghile, argileh, shisha, hubble-bubble, and goza.
Hookahs vary in size, shape, and style.
A typical modern hookah has a head (with holes in the bottom), a metal body, a water bowl, and a flexible hose with a mouthpiece.
Hookah smoking is typically done in groups, with the same mouthpiece passed from person to person.
Hookah Use
Hookah use began centuries ago in ancient Persia and India.
Today, hookah cafes are gaining in popularity around the world, including Britain, France, Russia, the Middle East, and the United States.
Hookah use by youth1,2,3 and college students is increasing.
In 2010, the Monitoring the Future survey found that among high school seniors in the United States, about 1 in 5 boys (17%) and 1 in 6 girls (15%) had used a hookah in the past year.
Other small studies of young adults have found high prevalence of hookah use among college students in the United States. These studies show past-year use ranging from 22% to 40%.
New forms of electronic hookah smoking, including steam stones and hookah pens, have been introduced.
These products are battery powered and turn liquid containing nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals into a vapor, which is inhaled.
Very little information is currently available on the health risks of electronic tobacco products.
The Canadian Cancer Society reports lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in Canada. It is estimated that 85 per cent of lung cancer cases are related to using tobacco products.
###
Nick Manning
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
226-929-7627
University of Waterloo
Journal
Cancer Causes & Control