news-record.com

In the Aug. 15 cover of the Life section, you gave a significant amount of space to urge people to “Get mellow at the city’s hookah lounges.” The cover quote says, “Wouldn’t say it’s healthy, but it doesn’t get you high either.” Inside, author Robert Lopez states, “Many of the tobaccos used for hookah contain no tar and little nicotine.”

According to the American Lung Association, however, hookah tobacco does contain tar and is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke. The American Journal of Epidemiology states that hookah smokers are at risk for the same kinds of diseases caused by cigarettes, including oral cancer, cancers of the lung, stomach and esophagus, reduced lung function and decreased fertility.
Mr. Lopez does rightly point out that smokers inhale carbon monoxide and other toxic chemicals, and that one smoking session can be as much as 200 times the volume of smoke in a single cigarette.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Using a hookah to smoke tobacco poses a serious potential health hazard to smokers and others exposed to the smoke emitted.” This isn’t my definition of “mellow,” and “I wouldn’t say it’s healthy” seems like a significant understatement!

Facts are cited on the following website: www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/hookahs/index.htm.

Elizabeth Livingston
Greensboro