Many People are under the impression that smoking hookah is safe. But according to a professor at the University of Montreal, this isn’t the case.
Jennifer O’Loughlin is a Professor of Preventative Medicine, and recently did a study that shows young people who smoke hookah are likelier than those who don’t to try other drugs or smoke cigarettes.
Hookah, which is completely legal, is offered at some restaurants and retail outlets in Edmonton. Advocates say that it is only dangerous is you smoke tabacco through the hookah and most people, they say, smoke something herb or spice based. But O’Loughlin says either way is unsafe.
"The health effects of waterpipes which range from pulmonary disease, lung cancer, infectious disease because kids share the pipes…there are separate hoses but even that’s problematic because breathe their germs down into the pipes."
Dr. Andre Corriveau, the Chief Medical Officer for Alberta, tells Global News he has concerns about hookah and will be discussing his concerns with colleagues in the coming months before coming up with a plan to combat that increase.
With files from Vassy Kapelos
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