Is a one-hour shisha session the same as smoking 100 or 200 cigarettes ?

IS A ONE-HOUR SHISHA SESSION THE SAME AS SMOKING 100 OR 200 CIGARETTES?

No. Shisha aerosol and cigarette smoke are fundamentally different from each other.

The aerosol generated from flavoured shisha molasses is 75% water (60%) and glycerol (15%) completely different from cigarette smoke that is 75% tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. A study commissioned by Al Fakher and published by the Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) found that shisha molasses – which have a much lower tobacco content than cigarettes - are heated at much lower temperatures, and create aerosol with far lower concentrations of nicotine and other constituents compared to cigarette smoke.

For example, in the CORESTA study the aerosol generated from one hour of heating flavoured shisha (Al Fakher Double Apple with Mint) contains less nicotine than two cigarettes.

Innovations in heating shisha molasses can decrease chemicals in the aerosol even further and are worth further study.