The Hookah: Health Risk or Not?
Friday, June 21, 2013
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| Hookahs for sale in Jerusalem |
The hookah's are popular among Jews as it was brought into the general Jewish consciousness by Mizrahim and Sephardim such as the Yemenite Jews and Jews from Iran (modern Persia).
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| Yemenite Jews with a hookah on right of pic |
On the flip side, the shisha smoked from a hookah is a much less toxic than cigarettes as a cigarette contains a number of chemical additives that the shisha of a hookah does not have. Further the tobacco of a cigarette produces tar when burned and since the shisha of a hookah is not burned there isn't an associated risk of tar inhalation.
There are also health benefits to smoking tobacco as well. Tobacco is an herb an has proven medicinal qualities whenever smoked. Here are just a few studies which have demonstrated the positive side of smoking:
- According to an article published in 1995 in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, nicotine found in smoke inhalation reduces psychiatric, cognitive, sensory, and physical effects of schizophrenia, and also provides relief of common side effects from anti-psychotic drugs.
- A series of very interesting studies from multiple academic sources confirms that the risk of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease is surprisingly higher in non-smokers than in smokers. Doctor Laura Fratiglioni of Huddinge University Hospital in Sweden states, "Smokers are 50% less likely to have PD or AD than are age and gender-matched nonsmokers [...] cigarette smoking exerts an undefined, biologic, neuroprotective influence against the development of PD and AD."
- The University of Melbourne confirmed the claims made by many smokers that tobacco itself is a strong appetite suppressant, and many use it to self-treat compulsive overeating disorders or obesity.
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| Moroccan Jew smoking hookah |
- Tobacco smoke's anti-inflammatory effects may actually provide some benefits to children who are exposed to secondhand smoke. While this is certainly not worth at-home experimentation, one astonishing study conducted in Sweden observed two generations of Swedish children and found that the children of smokers had lower rates of allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, atopic eczema, and food allergies. The studied groups included 6909 adults and 4472 children, and the findings remained consistent, even when adjusted to reflect other variables.
- A study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology revealed that preeclampsia, an extremely common but potentially deadly condition, is significantly less common in expectant mothers who smoke cigarettes than in expectant mothers who do not smoke.
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| Yemenite Passover Seder with a hookah to the right |
There is obviously a downside to smoking but there are also benefits that are obscured by the media and other interested parties who have their own agendas. The important thing to keep in mind when it comes to smoking your hookah is simply "moderation." Too much of anything is not a good thing. The hookah is a pleasant experience and a part of our heritage. There is great pleasure to be derived from smoking the hookah while studying the secrets of the Zohar with a group of friends.
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