Health effects

Exposure to pathogens that cause infectious diseases

When people share a hookah, there is a risk of spreading infections diseases such as oral herpes, tuberculosis, hepatitis, influenza, and H. pylori Using personal disposable mouthpieces may reduce this risk but does not eliminate it

Exposure to toxic chemicals

Hookah smoke contains multiple toxic chemicals Water does not filter out many of these chemicals.Hookah smoke contains toxic chemicals that come from the burning of the charcoal, tobacco, and flavorings. Hookah smokers inhale many chemicals that can cause cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and other health problems.These chemicals include tobacco-specific nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; e.g., benzo[a]pyrene and anthracene), volatile aldehydes (e.g. formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein), benzene, nitric oxide, heavy metals (arsenic, chromium, lead), and carbon monoxide (CO).Hookah smoking increases the amount of carbon monoxide (CO) in a person’s body to eight times their normal level.Compared to smoking one cigarette, a single hookah session exposes users to more carbon monoxide and PAHs, similar levels of nicotine, and lower levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines Because of inhaling these chemicals, hookah smokers are at increased risk of many of the same health problems as cigarette smokers.