Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25661414›Full record

ReviewTobacco control2015

Health effects associated with waterpipe smoking.

Ziad M El-Zaatari, Hassan A Chami, Ghazi S Zaatari

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Tobacco control, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 176 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
176citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

176 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Interventions for waterpipe smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023
    Pooled it
  2. Cancer risk in waterpipe smokers: a meta-analysis.International journal of public health · 2017
    Pooled it
  3. Interventions for waterpipe smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Waterpipe Tobacco Warnings: An Experimental Study Among a Nationally Representative Sample of US Young Adults.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2021
    Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Concurrent Alcohol Use and Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Smoking Topography, Toxicant Exposure, and Abuse Liability.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2020
    Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Unsubstantiated Claims by the Hookah Tobacco Industry to Exempt Flavored Hookah Tobacco Products From Flavor Bans.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

116 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Ziad M El-ZaatariDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Hassan A ChamiDepartment of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Ghazi S ZaatariDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveIt is widely held that waterpipe smoking (WPS) is not associated with health hazards. However, several studies have documented the uptake of several toxicants and carcinogens during WPS that is strongly associated with harmful health effects. This paper reviews the literature on the health effects of WPS. DATA SOURCES: Three databases-PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE-were searched until August 2014 for the acute and long-term health effects of WPS using the terms 'waterpipe' and its synonyms (hookah, shisha, goza, narghileh, arghileh and hubble-bubble) in various spellings. STUDY SELECTION: We included original clinical studies, case reports and systematic reviews and focused on clinical human studies. ∼10% of the identified studies met the selection criteria. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were abstracted by all three authors and summarised into tables. Abstracted data included study type, results and methodological limitations and were analysed jointly by all three authors. DATA SYNTHESIS: WPS acutely leads to increased heart rate, blood pressure, impaired pulmonary function and carbon monoxide intoxication. Chronic bronchitis, emphysema and coronary artery disease are serious complications of long-term use. Lung, gastric and oesophageal cancer are associated with WPS as well as periodontal disease, obstetrical complications, osteoporosis and mental health problems.

conclusionsContrary to the widely held misconception, WPS is associated with a variety of adverse short-term and long-term health effects that should reinforce the need for stronger regulation. In addition, this review highlights the limitations of the published work, which is mostly cross-sectional or retrospective. Prospective studies should be undertaken to assess the full spectrum of health effects of WPS, particularly in view of its growing popularity and attractiveness to youth.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesFemaleHumansMouth DiseasesNeoplasmsPregnancyPregnancy OutcomeRespiratory Tract DiseasesSmokingWaterWaterGlobal healthNon-cigarette tobacco productsSmoking Caused Disease

Identifiers

PMID25661414
PMCPMC4345795

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.