Hookah Use among Arab, Chaldean and Caucasians community in SE Michigan

Background: Little is known about hookah use in the U.S. Many Arab Americans have emigrated from Arab countries where hookah use is common and part of every day life. It has been estimated that more than 100 million people worldwide smoke Hookah daily.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted through distribution of a questionnaire to likely audience members in the community and social arenas [E.g. clubs, stores, community colleges and community organizations]. Data analysis was done on 1,091 out of 1,219 participants because others were from other ethnicities. Ninety participants were former hookah users and they were included as hookah users because the study's aim was to learn behavior characteristics of hookah users.

Results: Mean age for study population was 32.2 [STD deviation 14.95]. There were significant differences (P= 0.001) between those who smoked hookah or not in most variables [E.g. gender, marital status, age, education, and ethnicity]. The prevalence of hookah use was highest among Arabs [52%] followed by Chaldeans [35%] then Caucasians [28%]. People mainly get hookah tobacco from stores [41%], home [20%] but they smoked hookah mainly at home [39%], cafés [32%]. Hookah smoking was shared with friends [52%] and family [48%]. The main reason for smoking the hookah was social [45%], tasted nice [22%] & relieved stress [8%]. 31% of hookah users said they will not quit hookah.

Conclusions: The results of this pilot study suggest further investigation into Hookah smoking in order to establish an educational program for cessation of this form of tobacco.