Enhancement of Radon Exposure in Narghile (Water Pipe) Smoking Areas

Narghile, one of the names for water pipe, is an instrument for tobacco smoking that has
become a trend among the youth in Saudi Arabia. The mistaken opinion that smoking narghile is not as dangerous as smoking cigarettes makes the youngsters and their parents take it lightly and contributes to the expansion of its use. The link between tobacco smoke and cancer has long been established. Smokers are ten times at greater risk of developing lung cancer than that of non-smokers. Narghile smoking has become fashionable worldwide. Its tobacco pastes generally contains 30–70% tobacco. Tobacco contains minute amounts of radiotoxic elements which are inhaled via smoking. Radim-226 is a significant source of radon-222, an inert radioactive gas, which enters buildings through soil, construction materials or water supply. When tobacco smoke is present, the radioactivity attached to airborne smoke particles and the radioactivity concentration in
the room, increases very much compared to a smoke-free room. It remains suspended and available until inhaled as ‘secondhand’ smoke by anyone in the room. Thus, smoking indoors greatly increases lung cancer risks to all inhabitants. To investigate whether the narghile tobacco itself is a potential source of indoor radon, the level of radon and thoron from radioactive decay were measured in fifteen different brand narghile tobacco paste samples using CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). The results showed that the 222Rn and 220Rn concentrations in these samples ranged from 129 to 273 Bqm-³ and 55 to 142 Bqm-³, respectively.