According to a study published by the Imperial College London, Lebanese youth are ranked among the heaviest hookah smokers in the world.
The study was conducted in 2018 and included smoking estimates for 68 countries. Researchers concluded that 37.2 percent of youth reported using hookah in the past 30 days of a survey, among the highest in the world.
“Waterpipe tobacco smoking is most prevalent in Eastern Mediterranean and European countries, and appears higher among youth than adults,” the study said.
The study also added that about 65 percent of Lebanese citizens under 24 have smoked hookah at least once in their life.
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Hookah usage in Iran and Egypt were also considered high with usage rates over 10 percent.
In response, the American University of Beirut Medical Center launched a social media campaign to raise awareness of the negative health effects associated with smoking tobacco from a waterpipe.
A copy of the full study is available on the National Institutes of Health website.