A critique of the WHO TobReg's "Advisory Note" report entitled: "Waterpipe tobacco smoking: health effects, research needs and recommended actions by regulators"
- PMID: 17112380
- PMCID: PMC1664583
- DOI: 10.1186/1477-5751-5-17
A critique of the WHO TobReg's "Advisory Note" report entitled: "Waterpipe tobacco smoking: health effects, research needs and recommended actions by regulators"
Abstract
Background and aim: The World Health Organisation Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg) has issued in 2005 an "Advisory Note" entitled: "Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Health Effects, Research Needs and Recommended Actions by Regulators". "Waterpipe" smoking is now considered a global public health threat and the corresponding artefact is actually known in the world under three main terms: hookah, narghile and shisha. This important report, the first ever prepared by WHO on the subject, poses two major problems. On one hand, its bibliographical references dismiss world chief relevant studies. On the other, it contains a certain number of errors of many orders: biomedical, sociological, anthropological and historical. The purpose of the present study is to highlight, one by one, where these weaknesses and errors lie and show how this official report can be considerably improved.
Results: We realise that widely advertised early anthropological studies were not taken into consideration whereas they shed a substantial light on this peculiar form of smoking and help understanding its high complexity. As for concrete errors to be found in this report, they deal with the chemistry of smoke, health-related effects, smoking patterns, description and history of the artefact and its use, gender and underage use aspects, prevention and research needs in this field.
Conclusion: The scientific credibility of an international expert report may be at stake if its recommendations do not rely on sound objective research findings and a comprehensive review of the existing literature. The critical comments in this study will certainly help improve the present WHO report.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/1664583/bin/1477-5751-5-17-1.gif)
![Figure 2](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/1664583/bin/1477-5751-5-17-2.gif)
![Figure 3](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/1664583/bin/1477-5751-5-17-3.gif)
Similar articles
-
Folic acid supplementation and malaria susceptibility and severity among people taking antifolate antimalarial drugs in endemic areas.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 Feb 1;2(2022):CD014217. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD014217. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022. PMID: 36321557 Free PMC article.
-
Interventions for waterpipe smoking cessation.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Jul 31;2015(7):CD005549. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005549.pub3. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015. Update in: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Jun 7;6:CD005549. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005549.pub4. PMID: 26228266 Free PMC article. Updated. Review.
-
A critique of recent hypotheses on oral (and lung) cancer induced by water pipe (hookah, shisha, narghile) tobacco smoking.Med Hypotheses. 2010 May;74(5):843-6. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.11.036. Epub 2009 Dec 24. Med Hypotheses. 2010. PMID: 20036075
-
The scientific basis of tobacco product regulation.World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 2008;(951):1-277, 1 p following 277. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 2008. PMID: 19522165
-
Tobacco smoking using a waterpipe: a re-emerging strain in a global epidemic.Tob Control. 2004 Dec;13(4):327-33. doi: 10.1136/tc.2004.008169. Tob Control. 2004. PMID: 15564614 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Prevalence and associated factors of shisha smoking among students in Senegal: Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2020.Tob Induc Dis. 2024 May 14;22. doi: 10.18332/tid/186656. eCollection 2024. Tob Induc Dis. 2024. PMID: 38745595 Free PMC article.
-
Portfolio analysis of global tobacco control research funding at the National Cancer Institute, 2000-2019.Tob Prev Cessat. 2024 Mar 4;10. doi: 10.18332/tpc/184041. eCollection 2024. Tob Prev Cessat. 2024. PMID: 38440159 Free PMC article.
-
From knowledge production to knowledge translation: Waterpipe tobacco control research in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.Tob Prev Cessat. 2024 Jan 19;10. doi: 10.18332/tpc/175953. eCollection 2024. Tob Prev Cessat. 2024. PMID: 38250221 Free PMC article.
-
Unveiling an Association between Waterpipe Smoking and Bladder Cancer Risk: A Multicenter Case-Control Study in Iran.Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 Apr 3;33(4):509-515. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-0773. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024. PMID: 38180357 Free PMC article.
-
Knowledge, practices and beliefs of students regarding health effects of shisha use in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: A cross‑sectional study.Afr J Thorac Crit Care Med. 2023 Apr 11;29(1):10.7196/AJTCCM.2023.v29i1.246. doi: 10.7196/AJTCCM.2023.v29i1.246. eCollection 2023. Afr J Thorac Crit Care Med. 2023. PMID: 37476660 Free PMC article.
References
-
- World Health Organization (Tobacco Free Initiative) Advisory Note Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Health Effects, Research Needs and Recommended Actions by Regulators. 2005. http://www.who.int/tobacco/global_interaction/tobreg/en/ (retrieved 15 Dec. 2005) - PubMed
-
- Chattopadhyay A. Emperor Akbar as a Healer and his Eminent Physicians. Bull Indian Inst Hist Med Hyderabad. 2000;30:151–157. - PubMed
-
- Chaouachi K. Transdisciplinary doctoral thesis, Université Paris X (France) ANRT (Lille); 2000. Le narguilé: analyse socio-anthropologique. Culture, convivialité, histoire et tabacologie d'un mode d'usage populaire du tabac. [Eng.: Narghile (hookah): a Socio-Anthropological Analysis. Culture, Conviviality, History and Tobaccology of a Popular Tobacco Use Mode]. 420 pages.
-
- Van Der Merwe NJ. World Anthropology: Cannabis and Culture. Vera Rubin: Mouton Publ. (The Hague); 1975. Cannabis Smoking in 13th-14th Century Ethiopia: Chemical Evidence; pp. 77–80.
-
- Chaouachi K. Presentazione del narghilè e del suo uso. Guida critica della letteratura scientifica sul narghilè (shisha, hookah, waterpipe). Dalle origini ai giorni nostri : necessità di un approccio interdisciplinare socio-antropologico, medico e farmacologico. Tabaccologia. 2005;1:39–47. http://www.tabaccologia.org/archivio.htm [Eng. A critical review of scientific literature on narghile (Shisha, Hookah, Waterpipe) from its origins to date: the need for a comprehensive socio-anthropological, medical and pharmacological approach]
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Research Materials