With all of the coverage given to electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes, most of us have surely heard of them by now. These devices, shaped like a cigarette, are battery powered heating elements containing liquid nicotine. Unlike traditional cigarettes in which you inhale smoke, these devices heat the liquid turning it into a vapor. Here comes the question: are hookah pens bad for you?

What Are Hookah Pens?

Hookah pens are some kind of e-cigarettes. They are built with three main components: The cartridge (mouthpiece), the atomizer (heating component) and the battery:

  • ŸCartridge: Used to store the liquid flavored nicotine and also acts as the mouthpiece.

  • ŸLithium-ion battery: This powers the hookah pen and may be replaceable depending on model.

  • ŸAtomizer: This is the heating element, which heats the liquid, turning it into a vapor.

Other components of the hookah pen are also included with the device:

  • ŸSeal: This keeps the liquid fresh.

  • ŸMicroprocessor: This controls both the atomizer and the LED indicator.

  • ŸLED indicator: this activates to show that the pen is functioning.

  • ŸLiquid: The liquid in hookah pens may be flavored and may or may not contain nicotine.

This is more flavored steam than smoke. Still, it manages to be a very smoking-like experience. These hookah pens are often found in smoke shops, petrol stations and super markets with average costs of 7 to 10 USD.

Hookah Pens vs. E-Cigarettes

Hookah pens and e-cigarettes can be the same thing in the nature. Yet, their outer appearance can be different. The hookah pens are more colorful and target to younger customer groups, as a comparison, e-cigarettes are more preferred to smokers who pursue a healthier alternative. The hookah pens also have different fruit flavors, giving customer a candy-like taste, and this can be one of the reasons why hookah pens become more and more popular in young people.

Are Hookah Pens Bad for You?

Do Hookah Pens Produce Nictoine?

Hookah pens can produce nicotine. The good side is that hookah pens just eliminate other harmful chemicals in common cigarettes. And the hookah pens reduce the second-hand smoke to those nonsmokers. Yet some people hold it that the absorption level of nicotine via hookah pens is increased.

As a common sense, nicotine is addictive, and most liquids of hookah pens contain nicotine. Therefore, hookah pens cannot help smokers quit smoking; on the contrary, it might introduce younger people to smoking with packing of candy tastes and colorful appearance.

Although there are nicotine-free liquids, there are no evidence to prove the hookah pens or e-cigarettes are effective device to quit smoking. Besides, under no specific regulation on hookah pens or e-cigarettes, it is possible that you could buy unqualified products which put you beneath unknown dangerous conditions.

Other Health Risks About Hookah Pens

According to studies, there are some side effects for using hookah pens both in short terms and long terms.

For short term use, the vapors can increase the chances of getting viral respiratory infections for hookah pen smokers. For long term use, there are high levels nanoparticles in hookah pen vapors, which may lead to inflammation, further trigger conditions like asthma, stroke, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Take Care Around Children and Teens

With knowing the answer to "are hookah pens bad for you", you should take care around children and teens, the group that would easily try hookah pens.

Be very cautious around small children. There have been cases reported of small children ingesting the liquid nicotine cartridges. Keep all parts of these nicotine-based products out of the reach of small children. Call poison control right away if you suspect a child has ingested any liquid nicotine-based product.

It is illegal for persons under the age of 18 to use hookahs. Furthermore it has been shown that people whom use hookah also have a greater propensity to use illegal drugs.

Currently there are no laws against the purchase of e-cigarettes or e-hookah pens. Legislation to impose age limit restrictions is under review. Although no studies have linked e-cigarettes to smoking there are concerns that vapor products containing a nicotine-based liquid may result in lifelong smokers. Since most lifelong smokers begin smoking prior to age 18, the fear is that exposure to nicotine products are a gateway product to regular cigarette smoking.

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