AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract View
The Impact of Head Composition and Design on the Physical Properties of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoke
CINDY DEFOREST HAUSER, Sarah Coats, David DeGrood, Ronnae Mailig, Davidson College
Abstract Number: 672 Working Group: Health Related Aerosols
Abstract Hookah use is increasingly prevalent among college age students. The health impacts of hookah or waterpipe tobacco smoke (WTS), however, are only poorly understood and potentially hampered by the limitations of approaches comparing WTS to secondhand smoke from cigarettes. The combination of shisha as a very different matrix from cigarette tobacco and indirect heating versus combustion, however, may present unknown health hazards. In particular, we are focused on the potential physical toxicity associated with the inherent physical properties of particles in WTS. In previous studies, we have found that the height of the waterpipe or hookah impacts the distribution and concentration of the particulate component of waterpipe tobacco smoke (WTS). Here, we present the results of systematic investigations into the contribution of different components within shisha as well as the use of charcoal or an electronic heating source to the distribution and concentration of the particulate component of WTS under different smoking regimes. Additionally, the results from preliminary investigations of different hose lengths will be presented.