Baltimore Hookah Bars Have Dangerous Concentrations of Air Pollution

Do you smoke hookah? Then you may want to be careful where you do it. Scientists have found that hookahs can create hazardous concentrations of indoor pollution and poses an increased risk from diminished air quality for both employees and patrons of hookah bars.

Most tobacco-related research and tobacco control efforts are focused on cigarettes. But other forms of tobacco products can also pose risks to a person's health. As the popularity of hookah bars rises across the United States, it's important to understand the effects that these bars have.

To find that out, the scientists surveyed seven hookah bars in Baltimore, Maryland from Dec. 2011 to Aug. 2012. They measured carbon monoxide levels, airborne nicotine content and respirable particulate matter with a mean particle diameter of less than 2.5 microns.

So what did they find? It turns out that airborne concentrations of particulate matter and carbon dioxide were elevated in Baltimore hookah bars. While air nicotine concentrations were not as high as in places that allow cigarette smoking, they were still elevated and markedly higher than levels found in smoke-free bars and restaurants.

"There is a mistaken notion that tobacco smoking in a water pipe is safer than cigarettes," said Patrick Breysse, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Our results suggest that this is not the case. Our study found that waterpipe smoking creates higher levels of indoor air pollution than cigarette smoking, placing patrons and employees at increased health risk from secondhand smoke exposure."

In fact, the researchers found that the measurements in hookah bars consistently exceeded air quality standards set by the U.S. EPA.

"Public education efforts need to be developed to educate users about the hazards of water pipe use and tobacco control policies need to be strengthened to include water pipes," said Christine Torrey, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The findings are published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.