UCT Students help CANSA with Hookah Research

Hubbly Bubbly Not So Lovely Poster by UCT medical students

4th year UCT medical students, recently did a research project on hookah smoking. The 1st part of the research focussed on investigating what constitutes hookah smoking. The 2nd part involved the students, along with CANSA, developing a health promotion campaign & hosting “The Hubbly Bubbly Awareness Day”. Students created a poster & posted info on social networking sites. Download “Hubbly Bubbly – Not So Lovely” Poster…

Over a 100 students participated in the awareness day. Reasons given why students enjoyed Hookah included that they thought it was lighter than cigarettes, cheaper than cigarettes and didn’t smell as much as cigarettes. Among South Africans and abroad, it is commonly believed that hookah has less nicotine, is less addictive, contains fewer toxins and is therefore safer than cigarettes.

The medical students’ concluded that this lack of knowledge was a crucial factor in determining the above-mentioned misconceptions, beliefs and attitudes regarding hookah smoking and evaluating how harmful it is to use. Read full article here…

Research in fact indicates that hookah smoking may be equivalent to or worse than cigarette smoking. Read more…