NARGHILE (HUBBLE-BUBBLE) SMOKING, LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT, AND OTHER PREGNANCY OUTCOMES

Narghile smoking, a common habit among women in many non-Western socie ties, is assumed by the public to be minimally harmful. This study aim s at identifying the effect of smoking narghiles during pregnancy on t he weight of the newborn and other pregnancy outcomes, Three groups of pregnant women were interviewed in several hospitals in Lebanon betwe en 1993 and 1995: 106 who smoked narghiles during their pregnancy, 277 who smoked cigarettes, and 512 who did not smoke, The adjusted mean b irth weight of babies born to women who smoked one or more narghiles a day during pregnancy and to women who started smoking in the first tr imester was more than 100 g less than that of babies born to nonsmoker s (p < 0.1). The adjusted odds ratio of having babies with low birth w eight (<2,500 g) among the narghile smokers was 1.89 (95% confidence i nterval (CI) 0.67-5.38). The risk increased to 2.62 (95% CI 0.90-7.66) among those who started smoking narghiles in the first trimester, A s tronger association and a dose-response relation were found among ciga rette smokers, The association between narghile smoking and other preg nancy outcomes, especially Apgar score and respiratory distress, was a lso noticeable. Further research and a policy action to fight the misp erception that narghile smoking is safe are both recommended.