Quick Facts about hookah smoking

• Compared to a single cigarette, hookah smoke is known to contain:
• Higher levels of arsenic, lead, and nickel1
• 36 times more tar
• 15 times more carbon monoxide
• Smoking a hookah requires taking longer and harder drags, increasing levels of inhaled
nicotine and carcinogens in the lungs.
• The longer the hookah session, the more nicotine and toxins one takes in.
• A 45 to 60 minute hookah session exposes the smoker to approximately the same amount
of tar and nicotine as one pack of cigarettes.
• Sharing mouthpieces without washing them can increase the risk of spreading colds, flu,
and infections—even oral herpes.
• Health risks of smoking hookahs include cancer, heart disease, lung damage, and dental
disease.5
• Do not think that if you are just visiting a hookah bar, that you are in the clear. There are still
high levels of damaging secondhand smoke to all who are present.