Abstract
BackgroundThe number of waterpipe tobacco smokers has been increasing worldwide. Smokers can be exposed to a number of toxicants, some of which are metals. The aim of this study is to quantitatively determine if the water filtration stage of the waterpipe smoking process successfully decreases exposure to Bi, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, and U.MethodsFour samples of commercially available tobacco (Moassel) were compared in terms of the total amount of metal contained within the fresh tobacco sample and the amount of metal distributed into each compartment of the waterpipe after a smoking session.ResultsFor all metals analysed, the concentration of metal ‘filtered’ out during the water bubbling stage is around 3% (±1%) of the total metal.ConclusionsIt can be concluded that this small fraction would not protect the user against exposure to the majority of the potentially toxic metals.
Highlights
The number of waterpipe tobacco smokers has been increasing worldwide
The distribution of the metal fractions in the separate compartments was similar in three of the four tobacco samples, with the exception of 06GRPBR, which had the lowest fraction of metal in the smoke
Concentration of all metals in the water vessel was low among all tobacco samples in comparison to the amount in the original tobacco (Table 3)
Summary
The number of waterpipe tobacco smokers has been increasing worldwide. Smokers can be exposed to a number of toxicants, some of which are metals. The use of a waterpipe for the purposes of smoking tobacco is an ancient tradition in many parts of the world [1]. The waterpipe bears a number of different names depending on the set-up and region of origin; some typical names are Hubbly-Bubbly, Narghile, Goza, Shisha, and Hookah. There are clear differences between waterpipe and cigarette smoking. According to the WHO report on waterpipe use, a typical session of smoking, which can last up to an hour, exposes the user to 100–200 times the volume of smoke inhaled in a single cigarette. The smoke contains a mixture of toxicants including carbon monoxide and metals.
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