10 Facts that Clear the Air about cigars, cigarillos & hookah
Whether it’s from a hookah, a cigar, a cigarillo or a cigarette, where there’s smoke, there’s danger.
1. Hookah and cigars have higher levels of these chemicals than cigarettes!
2. The water in hookah doesn’t make it safer. Hookah IS tobacco, and the smoke bubbling through the water is still smoke going into your lungs.
3. No matter what’s rolled up in a cigar, you’re still inhaling tobacco, and there is no safe level of tobacco.
4. Think smoking Blacks gets you away from Big Tobacco? Think again. Black&Milds are made by the same people that make Marlboros.
5. A single Black, Dutch or Swisher has at least three times as much tobacco as a cigarette and everything that comes with it. And remember the wrapper is tobacco leaf too.
6. Would you smoke half a pack of Newports in an hour? That hour long hookah session with your friends “just on the weekend” or “only when I’m out” is like smoking half a pack of cigarettes.
7. While fewer people are smoking cigarettes in Philly, more people are smoking cigars and cigarillos, especially kids.
8. Want to keep your teeth? Smoking cigars, cigarillos and hookah increase your risk for gum disease and tooth loss.
9. Just because your cigar or hookah is fruit or candy flavored doesn’t protect you from the danger. Adding flavors is a long-standing Big Tobacco tactic to lure kids and young adults to get hooked on tobacco.
10. There is no safe kind of tobacco use. Anytime you use tobacco, you increase your risk for addiction, disease and death.
Just because it’s not a cigarette, doesn’t mean there’s no danger. If you burn it and breathe it, your body’s getting it.
For help quitting, please call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit our QUIT FOR GOOD page
Frequently Asked Questions
| What if I dump out the tobacco? | Tobacco (even if it’s just the wrap) contains nicotine, which is very addictive. There’s no safe level of tobacco. Smoking and inhaling anything is harmful to your health. For more info about marijuana smoking, visit: https://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/marijuana-and-lung-health.html |
| How does hookah compare to cigarette smoking? | There are different ways to compare cigarette and hookah smoking! You can compare the amount of smoke you breathe in, the amount of nicotine in a puff, or other chemicals you inhale. Smoking 1 cigarette = about 20 puffs vs. 1 hour of smoking hookah = about 200 puffs. That’s like smoking 10 cigarettes. To learn more, go to https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/hookahs/index.htm |
| What about Juul and vapes? | 1 juul pod contains about a cigarette pack’s worth of nicotine, so it’s highly addictive. The long-term health effects of vaping are still unknown. If you are trying to quit smoking we only recommend FDA-approved quit smoking aids like the patch, gum, or lozenges. For more info, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/about-e-cigarettes.html |
| What about marijuana? | Smoking and inhaling anything into your lungs is harmful to your health. To learn more about the health risks of marijuana use, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects.html |
| What about edibles? | Although we are not experts on marijuana, there are some health risks associated with THC, the active chemical in marijuana. To learn more, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/faqs/edibles.html |
| What about alcohol? | There are some health risks associated with drinking a lot of alcohol, including damage to the liver. For more information on alcohol and your health, visit the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/index.htm |
