Waterpipe smokers are at risk of the same kind of diseases as are caused by cigarette smoking, including cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease and adverse effects during pregnancy.

• Using a waterpipe to smoke tobacco poses a serious potential health hazard to smokers and
others exposed to the smoke.

• Sheesha smoke contains high levels of chemicals and poisons, including carbon monoxide,
tar and heavy metals.

• Many of these chemicals are known to cause mouth and lung cancers, heart disease,
respiratory and other diseases.

• Even though it has passed through water, the levels of toxins in sheesha smoke can be as
high or higher than in cigarette smoke.

• Water-pipe smokers may absorb higher concentrations of these chemicals because of higher
concentrations in the smoke itself, or because they may smoke for several hours at a time
and may inhale moisturized, less irritating smoke more deeply.

• In a sheesha session lasting 60 minutes, a smoker can inhale as much smoke as a cigarette
smoker would inhale from 100 – 200 cigarettes.

• Second-hand smoke from sheesha is an extremely harmful mixture of tobacco smoke and
smoke from the fuel (charcoal).

• Non smokers, particularly pregnant women, babies, children and the elderly are at risk from
breathing in sheesha smoke.

Using a waterpipe to smoke tobacco is NOT a safe alternative to cigarette smoking.