A Tribute to Ernst L. Wynder and Dietrich Hoffmann. The Narghile Decade

This year (2007) is a great year for many reasons. First of all, it marks the 30th Anniversary of a famous book release, written by Ernst L. Wynder and Dietrich Hoffmann:

Tobacco and Tobacco Smoke. Studies in Experimental Carcinogenesis

This document contains statements that have been considered as taboo over the past 10 years. However, they were dug out and disclosed again to the general public 7 years ago by an independent researcher who is still under embargo for his audacious stands. Consequently, we simultaneously fete the 10th Anniversary of his first book, and apparently the first one, published at a time when bibliographical sources were scarce, when there was no Internet and no World Hookah Epidemic (Heaven Forbid !).

So, let’s joyfully celebrate these Satanic Verses (or should there be “Satanic Verses” only when they target certain peoples of the world?):

“Long-term studies with water pipe smoke have not been carried out. These studies are of epidemiological interest because of the apparent infrequency of lung cancer among Syrians and water pipe smoking Asiatic and African immigrants to Israel (Rakower, 1955, 1957; Kallner, 1961). Smokers of oriental pipes are further believed to be noninhalers (Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel, 1959).

Hoffmann et al. (1963) conducted a short-term experiment with 33% water pipe smoke condensate-acetone mixture and found only a minimal amount of hyperplasia and no destruction of the sebaceous glands, as compared to a significant amount of hyperplasia and sebaceous gland destruction when these tests were conducted with cigarette smoke condensate in the same concentration. The authors suggest, on the basis of this short-term study, that the tumorigenic activity to mouse skin of smoke condensate from a water-pipe is low, but long-term tests appear in order.”

And about the "ORIENTAL PIPE SMOKE CONDENSATE"

“Rakower and Fatal (1962) were among the first to set up a study on the "tar" content of smoke from the Narghile, the Oriental water pipe. The tobacco generally used in Yemen is tombac, a kind of makhorka. Rakower and Fatal compared its smoke with that of a popular brand of blended tobacco.
The tombac smoked in the Boori (the pipe bowl) yielded only 16.1 mg of "tar" per gram of tobacco, at a puff volume of 200 ml, with puff pauses of 60 seconds. The tobacco blend under these conditions yielded 26.2 mg of "tar." Most remarkable, however, is the filter efficiency of the water in the Shishi, the water-filled main part of the Narghile. When the Narghile is used with water, as normally practiced, "tar" yield from 1.0 g of tombac is 8.4 mg, and from 1.0 g of tobacco blend, 14.2 mg. ln other words, the percentage of "tar" absorbed by the water is 82% in the case of tombac and 91 % for the blended tobacco.

That the water in the Shish[a] is a highly efficient filter medium for smoke condensate has been confirmed by Hoffmann et al. (1963). One gram of Syrian tobacco smoked in a Middle East Arkileh without water yielded 17 mg of "tar," whereas 650 ml of water in the Shishi retained 9.6 mg of this quantity. Thus, only 7.4 mg of condensate is obtained when the Arkileh is smoked with parameters of 2 puffs per minute of 35 ml and 2 seconds duration. Glowing charcoal was used to ignite the tobacco (2.2 g) in the Boori. The authors reported experimental deviations to be higher than +5% owing to difficulties in securing continuous burning of the tobacco.”

SOURCE: Ernest L. WYNDER, Dietrich HOFFMANN. Tobacco and Tobacco Smoke. Studies in Experimental Carcinogenesis. Academic Press (New York, London), 1967, pages 186, 329-330.

[Added Feb 2008] The Satanic Verses of Hookah and Passive Smoking (1st Part) (other dug out Satanic verses)

And what about you poor reader ?

Of course, you don’t understand anything now. You have probably read O% tar on tobamel (muessel) packages and heard of strange dubious experiments in which a ton of milligrams of tar would have been withdrawn from a “waterpipe”. You don’t know what to do, you’re getting alarmed and getting down…. The answer to your sorrows is HERE, folks.


READERS OF FRENCH: Un hommage à Ernst L. Wynder et Dietrich Hoffmann. La décennie du Narguilé (chicha, narghilé)

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