SynthesisBMC public health2011
The prevalence of waterpipe tobacco smoking among the general and specific populations: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 182 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
182 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Interventions for waterpipe smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Prevalence of hookah smoking among Iranian pupils and university students: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.The clinical respiratory journal · 2022Pooled it
- Preventing and controlling water pipe smoking: a systematic review of management interventions.BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- Hookah Use Among US Youth: A Systematic Review of the Literature From 2009 to 2017.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Women in Saudi Arabia and the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Systematic Review.Journal of environmental and public health · 2016Pooled it
- Motives, beliefs and attitudes towards waterpipe tobacco smoking: a systematic review.Harm reduction journal · 2013Pooled it
- Effect of Educational Intervention Based on Theory of Planned Behavior on Reducing Smoking and Hookah Use Among High School Male Students.The clinical respiratory journal · 2025Trial
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Theory-Informed School-Based Intervention to Prevent Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Changes in Knowledge, Attitude, and Behaviors in 6th and 7th Graders in Lebanon.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Dementia in the Middle East and North Africa: an integrative narrative review of epidemiology, risk structure, and health system implications.Journal of global health · 2026Review
- Indoor Air Pollutants of PM2.5, Carbon Monoxide, Nicotine, and Carcinogens in Waterpipe Bars.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- Prevalence of adverse respiratory symptoms among e-cigarette users at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2026Article
- Predictors of Tobacco Use Behaviors Among Syrian Americans.Tobacco use insights · 2026Article
- Article
- Perceived risk of cardiovascular diseases and its determinants in Hookah users in Southwest of Iran.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Noncommunicable diseases: a silent epidemic in occupied palestine: results from the world health organization STEPS survey 2022.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Knowledge and risk perception of e-cigarettes and hookah among young adults in Anambra State, Nigeria.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of waterpipe tobacco smoking in Japan.Tobacco induced diseases · 2025Article
- Characteristics of Waterpipe Smokers Who Are Willing to Quit: Population-Based Findings from Syria.Addiction & health · 2024Article
122 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe objective of this study was to systematically review the medical literature for the prevalence of waterpipe tobacco use among the general and specific populations.
methodsWe electronically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the ISI the Web of Science. We selected studies using a two-stage duplicate and independent screening process. We included cohort studies and cross sectional studies assessing the prevalence of use of waterpipe in either the general population or a specific population of interest. Two reviewers used a standardized and pilot tested form to collect data from each eligible study using a duplicate and independent screening process. We stratified the data analysis by country and by age group. The study was not restricted to a specific context.
resultsOf a total of 38 studies, only 4 were national surveys; the rest assessed specific populations. The highest prevalence of current waterpipe smoking was among school students across countries: the United States, especially among Arab Americans (12%-15%) the Arabic Gulf region (9%-16%), Estonia (21%), and Lebanon (25%). Similarly, the prevalence of current waterpipe smoking among university students was high in the Arabic Gulf region (6%), the United Kingdom (8%), the United States (10%), Syria (15%), Lebanon (28%), and Pakistan (33%). The prevalence of current waterpipe smoking among adults was the following: Pakistan (6%), Arabic Gulf region (4%-12%), Australia (11% in Arab speaking adults), Syria (9%-12%), and Lebanon (15%). Group waterpipe smoking was high in Lebanon (5%), and Egypt (11%-15%). In Lebanon, 5%-6% pregnant women reported smoking waterpipe during pregnancy. The studies were all cross-sectional and varied by how they reported waterpipe smoking.
conclusionWhile very few national surveys have been conducted, the prevalence of waterpipe smoking appears to be alarmingly high among school students and university students in Middle Eastern countries and among groups of Middle Eastern descent in Western countries.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.