Water doesn't work

Water doesn't work
WASHINGTON POST
Everyone knows that cigarettes can kill, but is the danger reduced by smoking through a water pipe known as a hookah? Apparently not, according to a study in the July issue of Respirology, an international peer-reviewed journal, which found that the risks to users of the fashionable smoking device appear to be as great as those from cigarettes, even though the smoke seems less harsh and has therefore been thought to be less toxic.
Sana S. Al-Mutairi and his colleagues at Kuwait University School of Medicine analyzed the concentration of nicotine and cotinine, a breakdown product of nicotine, in the urine samples of a group that included 77 hookah users, 75 cigarette smokers and 16 healthy nonsmokers. All were between the ages of 24 and 65; 13 were women.
The researchers found that although levels of nicotine and cotinine were highest in the cigarette smokers, the hookah users also had elevated levels of both toxic substances.
Chronic respiratory problems including symptoms of bronchitis were reported at a younger age among the hookah smokers than among cigarette smokers. Nearly 12 percent of hookah users had symptoms of chronic bronchitis, compared with 9.5 percent of cigarette smokers.
A heavy side to lights
Analyzing data from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey, a University of Pittsburgh researcher has found that those who smoked "light" cigarettes -- which are lower in tar and nicotine -- were "about 50 percent less likely to quit than those who smoked non-light cigarettes." The study suggests that smokers have less motivation to quit when they believe that light cigarettes are less hazardous than standard ones, a misperception that may increase their lifetime risk of smoking-related diseases.
After one drink, look out
Can a single stiff drink affect your vision? According to research published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, people intoxicated to half the legal blood-alcohol limit were less likely to notice an unexpected visual object when concentrating on another task, a phenomenon called "inattentional blindness." Researchers gave study participants either an alcoholic beverage or a placebo and then played a 25-second video clip of two teams passing a basketball. Midway through the clip, a person in a gorilla suit briefly appeared on screen and beat his chest. Those who were mildly drunk were twice as likely to miss the gorilla. Something to think about before you hit the road.
After one call, look out
Motorists who talk on cellphones are as impaired as drunk drivers, report psychologists from the University of Utah. Their study, published in the journal Human Factors, found that users of both hands-free and handheld cellphones were 5.36 times more likely to crash than undistracted drivers. This risk is similar to the one affecting drivers with a 0.08 blood-alcohol level.