Hookah use - new tobacco trend of the 21st century

Health & Science - Monday 12 March 2007

Carries Many of the Same Health Risks as Cigarette Smoking. American Lung Association Report Spotlights New Trend, Mistaken as Harmless

March 8, 2007 NEW YORK , NY

The emergence of trendy hookah bars in the United States masks the serious risk to health from hookah use, according to theAmerican Lung Association’s new report, An Emerging Deadly Trend –Waterpipe Tobacco Use, released today. Hookah bars are growing in popularity in the U.S. especially among 18-to 24-year-olds, becoming thefirst new tobacco use trend of the 21st century. The Lung Association report warns that this trend is thriving on the widespread, but mistaken, belief that hookah use is harmless.

"Contrary to what many beginning users may think, hookah tobacco use carries many of the same risks as cigarette smoking, including beinglinked to lung cancer and other lung diseases," said John L. Kirkwood,President and CEO of the American Lung Association. "Hookah tobacco use isnot a safe alternative to cigarettes. "Hookahs, also called waterpipes, are relatively new to the United States .

Hookah tobacco use, however, is an ancient form of tobacco use thatoriginated in Persia and India. The hookah heats specially - made tobacco,and then passes the smoke through a bowl of water. The smoker then draws this tobacco smoke through a mouthpiece connected to the pipe by a rubberhose. Existing research warns that hookah smoking poses the same or similar health risks as cigarette smoking. The report also looked at the existing research behind hookah use, and finds some disturbing results: Because a typical smoking session lasts 40 to 45 minutes, versus five to 10 minutes to smoke a cigarette, exposure to dangerous chemicals isincreased with hookah use.

Teens were eight times more likely to experiment with cigarettes if they’dever used a hookah. "The fact that hookah use also increases the chances that kids will start smoking cigarettes should be of great concern to policymakers and thegeneral public," said Kirkwood.

The American Lung Association recommends several ways to help slow this trend in the report, including increased research on all aspects of hookahuse, smokefree workplace laws that cover places where hookahs are used, andculturally appropriate cessation products and services to help addictedhookah smokers quit.

"The misperceptions surrounding hookah use mean that more young adults will risk their lives smoking what they believe is a safer product, said Kirkwood . "We need to better understand and reverse this dangerous trend."

The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lungdisease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of andtreatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, theAmerican Lung Association is "Improving life, one breath at a time."

For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, visit www.lungusa.org

In the UK, for information on how to quit smoking tobacco, cigarettes or shisha pipes, contact your local Stop Smoking Service on 0800 169 0169 or visit http://www.gosmokefree.co.uk/

Information in Arabic is available from: http://www.gosmokefree.co.uk/downloads/Arabic.pdf

Chlamydia prevalence on the increase

Your Silent Friend

Chlamydia prevalence is on the increase with as many as 1 in 9 young people infected. 70% of women and 50% of men who have chlamydia, have no symptoms. This means that it is easily passed on without your knowledge.

Most women who are infected with chlamydia will have no symptoms but some may notice:

• A change in the normal discharge from the vagina
• More frequent or painful peeing
• Pain during sex
• Bleeding between periods or irregular periods

Men are more likely to notice symptoms, but some may have no symptoms at all. Those with symptoms may have:

• Discharge from the penis.
• Pain or burning when peeing
• The eyes can become infected with chlamydia and if they do, both men and women may experience painful swelling and irritation

You can get chlamydia in the following ways

• Penetrative sex (where the penis enters the vagina or anus)
• Oral sex (from mouth to the genitals or genitals to the mouth)
• Mother to baby during birth
• Occasionally by transferring the infection on fingers from the genitals to the eyes

Diagnosis & Treatment
Chlamydia tests are often taken by using a pee sample, although samples may be taken from any infected place such as the cervix for women or the urethra (pee tube) for men. These are sent to a laboratory for testing and the results are usually available within a week. If the test is positive, the treatment for chlamydia is usually a simple one-off course of antibiotics.

You should avoid all sexual contact for at least one week after being treated. Check with your nurse, doctor or clinic. If you can, you should let anyone that you have had sexual contact with in the last 3 to 6 months know that they may have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and that they need to be checked out and possibly tested. Staff at the clinic will offer you as much support as you need to do this.

A woman can pass on chlamydia to her baby if she has it at the time of birth. If this happens though, both baby and mother can be treated with antibiotics after birth.
In women, if not treated, chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, fertility problems, ectopic pregnancy (where the baby grows outside the womb) and chronic pelvic pain.

The more times that you get chlamydia the higher your chances of not being able to have a baby (even if treated) and the more people you have sex with, the more likely you are to get it. If left untreated, there is evidence to suggest that chlamydia may affect men's fertility as well.

Where can I get more information?

http://www.condomessentialwear.co.uk/

If you think you may have chlamydia, contact your local NHS sexual health clinic (also known as a GUM clinic) and make an appointment. It's easy and completely confidential.
For more information on sexual health (including HIV), call the Sexual Health Line free (from the UK) on 0800 567 123, textphone (for people with hearing impairments) 0800 521 361 or phone your local NHS sexual health clinic.