What Is More Harmful: Hookah or Cigarettes?

Importance of quantity

One portion of hookah contains about the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. But smoking a hookah is a long, drawn-out process, which on average takes at least half an hour. Even an avid smoker smokes one cigarette every half an hour, but a hookah smoker smokes the equivalent of one pack over the same amount of time. Doctors and WHO experts agree that a pack of cigarettes in half an hour is a tremendous blow to the lungs. Hookah smokers typically only smoke a maximum of once per day.

Massive attack

Let’s look at the math: a cigarette smoker takes about 8–12 puffs for 5–7 minutes (average time), during which he or she inhales a total of 0.5–0.6 liters of smoke. The average time of hookah smoking is ===from 100 to 200 puffs, and each puff contains ...