Having just read The Cavalier Daily’s report on the health risks of hookah smoking (“Hoo Loves Hookah?”, 3/25/2009) I feel bewildered. The article presents wildly inconsistent information with no attempt to reconcile the diverse data. First, the article cites an American Lung Association study that compares a hookah session with smoking 100 cigarettes.
Next, Susan Bruce of the University’s Center for Alcohol and Substance Education is quoted as saying that a hookah session delivers carbon monoxide equal to 8.4 cigarettes, less than a tenth of what the ALA study suggests.
And finally, Bruce is cited saying that “just sitting in a hookah bar” is like smoking 15 to 20 cigarettes, about twice as much as the person actually smoking the hookah.
This is confusing. It is commendable that CASE and The Cavalier Daily want University students to be able to make informed decisions about the health risks of their behavior, but I don’t feel like this article has given me a reliable sense of the risks involved in hookah smoking.
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