Everything You Need To Know about E-Cigarettes, Vaping and Hookas

Gr 9 Up—Hosts Samara Amat and Max Rein do a fine job of walking viewers through assorted facts while correcting erroneous beliefs held by teens and college students. They describe, with the help of easily understood graphics, how a hookah session can lead to a smoker inhaling 100 puffs (vs. 10 for a regular cigarette), while each inhale takes in 500 milliliters of smoke (compared with 50 for a cigarette). Amat and Rein point out the dangers of such a large amount of second-hand smoke on others and the misconception that the water in the hookah cleanses the smoke. They further explain how the charcoal used to keep the tobacco burning creates carbon monoxide and other chemicals that can irritate lung tissue. As for e-cigarettes, they note that heated liquid nicotine in vapor form is still an extremely addictive substance. The amount varies tremendously from brand to brand, and it has the potential to alter teen brain chemistry in a way that may increase the risk of further addiction. Additionally, many of the e-cigarette flavors have no nicotine, but they contain other chemicals, such as diacetyl, which has been linked to what's known as popcorn lung, an irreversible condition.