08-21-2011, 04:35 PM
haha Daily Mail today Maggot 
![[Image: article-2028430-0D82CB0F00000578-419_468x312.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/21/article-2028430-0D82CB0F00000578-419_468x312.jpg)
Hookah smoking among young adults is on the rise in California, sparking alarm from medical experts.
A new report reveals 18 to 24-year-olds using a water pipe used to smoke tobacco increased by more than 40 per cent between 2005 and 2008.
Alarmingly, scientists warn smoking hookah for one hour is equivalent to inhaling the smoke from 100 cigarettes.
Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by professor Wael Al-Delaimy, conducted the study, first published by the American Journal of Public Health.
Dr Al-Delaimy, associate professor and chief of the Division of Global Health in the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, said contrary to popular belief, hookah smoking is dangerous.
He said: 'This rise is particularly alarming because it's happening in California, a state that leads the nation in tobacco control. While cigarette smoking has decreased nationwide and in California, reports of ever using hookah have increased, especially among adolescent and young adults.'
Despite the health risks, Dr Al-Delaimy says hookah is becoming 'more of a social event', where people gather to relax and meet.
The rise is surprising to researchers, who say cigarette smoke is at a record low in the state.
'Though public indoor cigarette smoking is banned throughout California, hookah use is permitted in designated lounges. This may create the impression that hookah is a safer alternative to cigarettes, which is simply not true,' Dr Al-Delaimy states.
The research was compiled from state-wide California Tobacco Surveys that are led and directed by Al-Delaimy.
Study results showed by 2008, hookah use in California was up 24.5 per cent among men and 10 per cent among women aged 18 to 24, compared to 11.2 per cent and 2.8 per cent among all male and female adults, relatively.
The study showed smoking hookah was also more common among non-Hispanic Whites, with at least some college education. In contrast, smoking cigarettes is found to be less common among those with higher education.
Dr Al-Delaimy said more specific studies were needed to determine the affects of the rise of hookah smoking. But he encouraged lawmakers to consider banning hookah lounges, 'eliminating the implication that hookah smoking is safer and more socially acceptable than cigarette smoking.'
Hookah smoking among young adults is on the rise in California, sparking alarm from medical experts.
A new report reveals 18 to 24-year-olds using a water pipe used to smoke tobacco increased by more than 40 per cent between 2005 and 2008.
Alarmingly, scientists warn smoking hookah for one hour is equivalent to inhaling the smoke from 100 cigarettes.
Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by professor Wael Al-Delaimy, conducted the study, first published by the American Journal of Public Health.
Dr Al-Delaimy, associate professor and chief of the Division of Global Health in the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, said contrary to popular belief, hookah smoking is dangerous.
He said: 'This rise is particularly alarming because it's happening in California, a state that leads the nation in tobacco control. While cigarette smoking has decreased nationwide and in California, reports of ever using hookah have increased, especially among adolescent and young adults.'
Despite the health risks, Dr Al-Delaimy says hookah is becoming 'more of a social event', where people gather to relax and meet.
The rise is surprising to researchers, who say cigarette smoke is at a record low in the state.
'Though public indoor cigarette smoking is banned throughout California, hookah use is permitted in designated lounges. This may create the impression that hookah is a safer alternative to cigarettes, which is simply not true,' Dr Al-Delaimy states.
The research was compiled from state-wide California Tobacco Surveys that are led and directed by Al-Delaimy.
Study results showed by 2008, hookah use in California was up 24.5 per cent among men and 10 per cent among women aged 18 to 24, compared to 11.2 per cent and 2.8 per cent among all male and female adults, relatively.
The study showed smoking hookah was also more common among non-Hispanic Whites, with at least some college education. In contrast, smoking cigarettes is found to be less common among those with higher education.
Dr Al-Delaimy said more specific studies were needed to determine the affects of the rise of hookah smoking. But he encouraged lawmakers to consider banning hookah lounges, 'eliminating the implication that hookah smoking is safer and more socially acceptable than cigarette smoking.'