WHO Warns Against Water-Pipe Smoking
‘Water-pipe smoking may pose the same health risks as cigarettes, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, adding that more scientific research was needed into the link between hookah use and a number of fatal illnesses.
“Using a water pipe to smoke tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking,” the U.N. health agency said in a seven-page document on the practice. “Contrary to ancient lore and popular belief, the smoke that emerges from a water pipe contains numerous toxicants known to cause lung cancer, heart disease and other diseases.”‘
