The CORESTA Board is carrying out a survey to evaluate what level of interest exists in carrying out a scientific investigation into water pipe tobacco and its emissions during consumption.
In a press note issued on Friday, CORESTA said that until the 20th century, water pipe smoking was a part of the Asian and Northern African cultures.
‘Since then, this type of smoking has spread in Europe and Northern America, becoming more and more trendy worldwide,’ the press note said.
‘Whatever the name given to the device – hookah, shisha, nargile – the general perception of such smoking is that since tobacco is not burnt, but heated, and the smoke filtered through water, it is less harmful.
‘However, to date, very little scientific work has been produced on either the tobacco mixture itself or the emissions.
‘Work started at ISO level in 2010 was stopped in 2016 without a significant output due to the lack of resources.
‘The CORESTA Board considered that water pipe users deserve robust scientific facts about their products and is launching a survey to evaluate interest in such research.’
The survey form, which should be completed before June 16, can be found at: coresta.org.