Preventing and controlling water pipe smoking: a systematic review of management interventions

Abstract

Background Water pipe smoking (WPS) is re-gaining widespread use and popularity among various groups of people, especially adolescents. Despite different adverse health effects of WPS, many of the WPS interventions have failed to control this type of tobacco smoking. This study was conducted to identify experienced management interventions in preventing and controlling WPS worldwide. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted. Electronic databases were searched for recordes which were published from beginning 1990 to August 2018. Studies aiming at evaluating, at least, one intervention in preventing and controlling WPS were included in this review, followed by performing the quality assessment and data extraction of eligible studies by two independent investigators. Finally, interventions that were identified from the content analysis process were discussed and classified into relevant categories. Results After deleting duplications, 2228 out of 4343 retrieved records remained and 38 studies were selected as the main corpus of the present study. Then, the identified 27 interventions were grouped into four main categories including preventive (5, 18.51%) and control (8, 29.62%) interventions, as well as the enactment and implementation of legislations and policies for controlling WPS at national (7, 25.92%) and international (7, 25.92%) levels. Conclusion The current enforced legislations for preventing and controlling WPS are not supported by rigorous evidence. Informed school-based interventions, especially among adolescents can lead to promising results in preventing and controlling WPS and decreasing the effects of this important social and health crisis in the global arena.

The Prevalence of Water Pipe Smoking and Perceptions on its Addiction among University Students in Palestine, Jordan, and Turkey

“…There are several recent studies with available data concerning the prevalence of Water Pipe smoking and health effects in the Middle East. They have indicated an increase in the prevalence of Water Pipe smoking in the Middle East countries (Bashirian et al, 2021;Jawad et al, 2018;Nasser et al, 2020). Thus, these results indicated the need for a health warning among university students concerning the harmful health effects of Water Pipe smoking.…”

“…Within these ages, the prevalence of Water Pipe smoking has been reported as 19.7%, 21%, 12.6%, and 30-36% in Pakistan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine, respectively (Amere et al, 2018). Compared to cigarette smoking, one study observed that Water Pipe smoking is more addictive and more socially acceptable (Babaie et al,, 2021). It is also noticeable that the total prevalence rate of Water Pipe smoking in Turkey was found to be 32.7% in general, 28.6%, and 37.5% among medical and non-medical university students in particular, respectively, as confirmed by a study conducted in the year 2010.…”

Prevalence of hookah smoking among Iranian pupils and university students: An updated systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Hookah is a traditional way of smoking, which has gained popularity among pupils and students, currently becoming an epidemic 2 . The risks of hookah smoking are often undermined due to various misconceptions, such as the use of flavouring agents in tobacco products and the false public opinion that hookah is healthy because the hazardous agents in the tobacco are filtered through the water inside the tank 3 . Nonetheless, hookah is similar to cigarettes in terms of causing diseases such as cancer, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders, chronic pulmonary diseases and cardiovascular diseases 4,5 .…”

Secondhand smoke exposure from the indoor and outdoor shisha centers located at the perimeter of educational institutions in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

“…Shisha smoking is a global public health problem that has existed for centuries in the Middle East and northwestern provinces of India and has spread to the western world and southeast Asian countries [1]. Shisha smoking typically involves the inhalation of smoke from the burning tobacco and charcoal after it passes through the water [2].…”

“…SC operators sell wide variety of flavors to attract young adults [1]. Additionally, shisha is being shared in groups; thus, it is more affordable than cigarette smoking [15] and is socially acceptable [5].…”