Dr Aimee Grant Senior Health Promotion Practitioner, Public Health Wales
Rory Morrison Policy & Research Officer, ASH Scotland, Edinburgh
Abstract
In recent years there has been increasing interest in shisha (also waterpipe, hookah, or nargile) smoking in the UK. Epidemiology on the health effects of shisha use is relatively limited; however the current consensus is that shisha smoking is likely to carry some of the same health risks as smoking cigarettes. Little data exists on the prevalence of shisha use, and surveys are often carried out in sub-groups (e.g. university students) which are unlikely to be representative of the wider populace. Moreover, existing data often only provides limited measurement of frequency of shisha use.
We report on cross-sectional online surveys carried out in 2012 and 2013, involving approximately 12,000 adults in Great Britain each year, and weighted to be representative of all GB adults aged 18 and over. We found frequent shisha use was very rare, with less than 1% reporting use once a month or more frequently. Shisha use will be explored in relation to gender, age, cigarette smoking status, social grade, and ethnicity and differences between the two years of data will also be investigated. These results and the wider literature on shisha will be discussed in the context of smoking cessation in the UK.
Source of funding: ASH, ASH Scotland, ASH Wales, FRESH North East, Smokefree South West, Tobacco Free Futures and Yorkshire & Humber Strategic Health Authority.
Declaration of interest: Dr Aimee Grant is employed by Public Health Wales, a statutory body that aims to protect and improve the health and wellbeing of the population of Wales. All authors are, or have previously been, employees of third sector organisations that aim to reduce the harms caused by smoking in UK nations.
