Girls Smoke More than Boys
12/14/03
Girls smoke nargilah (hookah) and cigarettes more than boys, according to a study carried out in three Israeli cities.
Close to 400 students in 7th, 9th and 11th grades in Raanana, Hod HaSharon and Kfar Saba were polled by Dr. Shabtai Versano, head of the Asthma Treatment and Education Clinic in Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba. His findings showed that 44% of the girls smoked hookah, compared to 38% of boys. Almost two-thirds of the girls, and 40% of the boys, partake at least once a week.
The gap in heavy cigarette smoking is even wider: Among those who smoke, only 15% of boys smoke more than five cigarettes a day, while fully 48% of girls smoke that many.
Dr. Versano told Arutz-7's correspondent today that though a small amount of tar particles come through the water of the nargilah, its main danger is in the addiction to nicotine - and cigarettes - that it causes. "We saw clearly that among the 11th-graders, nargilah smoking had already decreased, but was replaced by cigarettes." He said that parents are apparently not aware of the dangers, "as fully 23% of the students said that they smoke nargilah together with their parents, and another 15% said their parents allow them to smoke."
Cigarettes
