Hookah Smoke Exposure Doubles Dangerous Benzene Uptake
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According to a study published on November 21, 2014 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, people who smoke a hookah or inhale secondhand hookah smoke may be breathing in the chemical benzene, a substance that previous research has linked with an increased risk of leukemia.
The researchers found that urine levels of a compound called S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), which forms when benzene is broken down in the body, increased more than fourfold in the hookah smokers who smoked at a hookah lounge, and increased almost twofold in people who smoked hookah at home.
You can read more about this study at LiveScience.