Characteristics of Iranian hookah users aged 15 years and older, primary report

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: Despite of increasing prevalence of Hookah smoking in Iran , there is no precise information about the consumption and consumers. We evaluated characteristics of current hookah users in Iran. Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out through stratified multi-stage cluster sampling in five districts of Tehran and the specifications of Hookah users were studied. Findings: 316 current Hookah smokers were studied. 49.2% of them were in the age group of 25-39 years. 42.7% of women and 25.1% of men had academic education. 68% of them consumed their first Hookah with their friends and the most common place for the first Hookah use was in their parties. 53.3% of them use Hookah in their own homes. 15.4% of women used Hookah in traditional restaurants and 100 men (47.4%) used it in parks and teahouses. A large number of participants consumed flavored tobacco. The mean age of starting Hookah smoking was 21.3±6.4 years. 59.4% of participants have no desire to quit Hookah smoking. 52.6% of participants were also current cigarette smokers. Being a male (OR: 2.24) and Hookah smoking in teahouse (OR: 10.6) or home (OR: 9.6) were positively associated with daily Hookah consumption. Conclusion: It is a report on water-pipe smoker9s characteristics in an Iranian population. According to that, Hookah smokers were mostly young adults and educated. They had mostly tendency to use Hookah at home with friends or in the teahouse. Most of them consumed fruit flavored tobacco and they had no desire to quit Hookah smoking.Further studies in this field are needed and just like anti-smoking activities it is necessary to consider Hookah consumption in tobacco control programs.