No Such Thing as Safe Tobacco

While they may not seem as bad for you, tobacco alternatives, such as cloves, bidis, and hookahs, actually carry many of the same health risks as cigarettes.

Clove cigarettes, or kreteks, contain 60%-70% tobacco and 30%-40% ground cloves, clove oil, and other additives. The chemicals in cloves have been linked to asthma and other lung diseases. And kreteks have been shown to deliver more nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar than regular cigarettes.

Bidis, or "beedies," are flavored, hand-rolled cigarettes imported mainly from India. They contain less tobacco than regular cigarettes, but deliver higher levels of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide. Bidi smokers have much higher risks of heart attacks, chronic bronchitis, and some cancers than non-smokers.

Hookah (or narghile) smoking, which started in the Middle East, is typically done in a group setting where people talk and spend time together as they pass the water pipe around. Hookah smoke contains more toxins such as nicotine, carbon monoxide, tar, and other hazardous substances than cigarette smoke. It's also possible to spread infectious diseases by sharing the pipe.

In short, there's no such thing as safe tobacco. If you do smoke, try to quit.

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