Hookah Smoking No Safer Than Tobacco

As reported in Cancer Therapy Advisor, research by the Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health at San Diego State University states that the belief that hookah smoke is not harmful is simply untrue.

They found that, despite the fact that hookah is filtered through water before inhalation, people who smoke hookah have a fourfold elevation in urine levels of S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), a metabolite on benzene, and there is also a twofold elevation in those who attend an event in a hookah lounge.

This significant increase in the uptake of benzene, a chemical substance associated with an increased risk for leukemia, was published in a study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc.
Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
(661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com
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