由东南伦敦非法烟草网(SELITN)、帝国理工学院和南安普敦大学联合展开的一项调查中，六个区(贝克斯利、布罗姆利、格林威治、朗伯斯、刘易舍姆、南华克区)的成年人被问了一些关于吸烟的问题。帝国理工学院公共卫生学院的穆罕默德·贾瓦德博士说：“许多人在尝试吸水烟，但他们不知道这和吸香烟一样危险。多种烟草味道以及缺乏警惕使人们误以为它(水烟)是一个健康的产品。其实相反，并没有相关的证据证明它是健康的。和吸香烟一样，吸水烟也会引起肺癌和其他疾病。” 1176个受调查的成年人中有31%说他们曾吸过水烟——也叫水管，水烟袋或者水烟筒。这是英国平均水平(11.6%)的2.5倍。这与东南伦敦地区大量的城市社区以及大量允许销售水烟的店铺相呼应。

　　上瘾有害

　　令人担忧的是，将近一半的受调查者不知道水烟是易上瘾的，也是对健康有害的;2/3的受调查者不知道在室内公共场所吸水烟是违法的;7/10的受访者没有认识到水烟和香烟一样会引发癌症。

　　水烟是香烟的一种，它在英国的受欢迎程度在稳定地增长着。因为水烟包含烟草成分，它的烟有很多和香烟一样的有害化学品，用来加热水烟的碳在燃烧时也产生同样的烟。

　　大约1/3的调查对象错误地认为水烟的烟已经被水烟设备中的水过滤了，也因此产生它更加健康的暗示。

　　来自SELITN的杰拉尔德·波瓦，其中一个研究者，说：“这项研究表明东南伦敦对于水烟的理解以及公共卫生团体在水烟使用与健康上会怎样回应前进重大的一步。这项成果和其他研究一起提高了东南伦敦地区的公共卫生水平和商业策略标准。”

　　Adults in six boroughs (Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark) were asked a range of questions about tobacco smoking as part of a piece of research conducted by the South East London Illegal Tobacco Network (SELITN) in collaboration with Imperial College London and the University of Southampton.

　　Dr Mohammed Jawad from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: "Many people are trying shisha unaware that it carries the same risks as smoking cigarettes. The variety of tobacco flavours and lack of awareness leads people to incorrectly believe this is a healthy product. On the contrary, there is now good evidence to show that, just like cigarettes, using shisha causes lung cancer and other diseases."

　　Thirty one per cent of 1,176 adults surveyed said they had tried shisha – also known as waterpipe, hookah, or narghile. This is over two and a half times the UK national average of 11.6 per cent and is consistent with the diverse urban communities present in southeast London, and the large number of premises selling shisha tobacco.

　　Harmful addiction

　　Worryingly, just under half of those surveyed did not know shisha was addictive and harmful to health, and two thirds did not know it is illegal to smoke shisha in enclosed public spaces. Seven in ten respondents were not aware that shisha causes cancer in the same way that cigarettes do.

　　Shisha comes in a range of tobacco flavours has been steadily growing in popularity in the UK. Because it includes tobacco, shisha smoke contains many of the same harmful chemicals found in cigarettes, as well as those that come from the burning charcoal used to heat it.

　　About one in three respondents incorrectly believed that shisha smoke is filtered by water in the shisha apparatus, with the implication that it is therefore safer.

　　Dr Gerald Power from SELITN, one of the study authors, said: “This study represents a significant step forward in our understanding of shisha in South East London and how public health teams may need to respond to it in the context of tobacco use and health. Along with other research commissioned by the group it will inform public health and trading standards strategies in South East London.”