Assessment of narghile (shisha, hookah) smokers’ actual exposure
to toxic chemicals requires further sound studies  Kamal
Chaouachi     Tobacco smoking is hazardous for health. However,
not all forms of tobacco use entail the same risks and the
latter should be studied and compared in a sound realistic way.
Smoking machines for cigarettes (which are consumed in a few
minutes) were early designed as a tool to evaluate the actual
intake of toxic substances (‘toxicants’) by smokers. However,
the yields (tar, nicotine, CO, etc.) provided by such machines
poorly reflect the actual human smoking behaviour known to
depend on numerous factors (anxiety, emotions, anthropological
situation, etc.). In the case of narghile smoking, the problems
are even more complex, particularly because of the much longer
duration of a session. A recent study from the US-American
University of Beirut was based on a field smoking topography and
claimed consistency with a laboratory smoking machine. We offer
a point by point critical anal