18 Percent of American High School Seniors Smoke Hookah, CDC Report

A latest report states that most American youth are turning to smokeless tobacco products such as hookah.

The rate of cigarette-smoking in the U.S. continues to decline, yet tobacco use in some form remains popular, especially among adolescents. This is highlighted in the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which reveals that nearly 18 percent of high school seniors use smokeless tobacco such as hookahs, cigars and similar products.  The report associated higher socioeconomic status with higher hookah-use.

"Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke are the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the US," said a study co-author Michael Weitzman, MD, a professor of Pediatrics and of Environmental Medicine at the NYULMC. "Cigarette use has decreased by 33% in the past decade in the US, while the use of alternative tobacco products such as hookahs has increased an alarming 123%. This is especially worrisome given the public misperception that hookahs are a safe alternative to cigarettes whereas evidence suggests that they are even more damaging to health than are cigarettes."

The study affiliated with the New York University's Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, evaluated the data taken from Monitoring the Future (MTF). The survey administered 130 public and private schools in the U.S. The study involved 15,000 high school seniors who were assessed annually. The study examined data from 5,540 students who were asked if they used hookah from 2010-2012.  The researchers noticed that 1 in 5 high school seniors used hookah.

"What we find most interesting is that students of higher socioeconomic status appear to be more likely to use hookah," said Joseph J. Palamar, PhD, MPH, a CDUHR affiliated researcher and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC). "Surprisingly, students with more educated parents or higher personal income are at high risk for use. We also found that hookah use is more common in cities, especially big cities. So hookah use is much different from cigarette use, which is more common in non-urban areas."

Known to be an ancient form of smoking, hookah is gaining popularity among the American adolescents. In this charcoal-heated tobacco or non-tobacco-based shisha, the smoke passes through water before being inhaled. Those who smoked cigarettes, used marijuana or consumed alcohol were more likely to use hookah.

The finding was documented in Pediatrics.