Individuals who smoke tobacco using hookah water pipes may be
exposing themselves to high levels of nicotine, cotinine, and
nitrosamines such as NNAL and NNK, according to a study published in the May 16, 2014,
online edition of
Cancer Epidemiology,
Biomarkers & Prevention (
Nicotine and Carcinogen Exposure after Water Pipe Smoking in Hookah Bars). The study was supported by the California
Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.
For the study, researchers recruited 55 healthy, hookah
smokers, ages 18 to 48 years. These participants were instructed not to smoke tobacco products for a week. After this time period, the researchers
gathered a pre-exposure urine sample and instructed the participants to
smoke tobacco using a hookah device at a hookah bar of their choice.
Participants then provided a post-exposure urine sample as
well as information on their smoking session, including total time spent
smoking, the
number of tobacco bowls smoked, and the number of shared users. They were
also asked to provide a second post-exposure sample that was
collected the following day.
The researchers found that
post-exposure urine
of participants had an average 73-fold increase in nicotine; a 4-fold increase in
cotinine; and a 2-fold increase in NNAL, a metabolite of NNK. Analysis of the second post-exposure urine
sample revealed that levels of nicotine, cotinine, and NNAL remained elevated.
The study's findings suggest that smoking tobacco using hookah
devices exposes users to the same health risks associated with smoking
cigarettes, such as heart disease and lung cancer. The authors noted several
limitations with the study, including exposure to secondhand smoke and possible
cigarette use among the study’s participants.
Cerilliant offers a wide range of certified solution
standards for major tobacco alkaloids, metabolites, and nitrosamines including
NNN, NNK, NNAL, NAT, and NAB in addition to native and stable labeled internal
standards of
nicotine, cotinine, nornicotine, trans-3’-hydroxycotinine, and anabasine. These reference standards are suitable for analytical
applications in clinical toxicology, clinical and diagnostic testing, nicotine
screening, and environmental monitoring. Cerilliant is accredited to
ISO Guide 34 and ISO/IEC 17025, certified to ISO 13485 and ISO 9001, and is
compliant with ISO 17511 and ISO 15194. Click on the link below to view our
complete listing of nicotine/tobacco certified reference standards: