Biography
Biography: Prathibha Prasad
Abstract
Cigarettes are not the only form of tobacco smoked; in fact, waterpipe has been used for smoking tobacco for centuries. The name Waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) is used for the last 2 decades in the English language scientifi c literature to refer to any variety of instruments that involves tobacco smoke passing through water before inhalation. The use of water pipe is increasing daily, in all age and sex groups. There is a dire need to study and document health eff ects of water pipe smoking in general and specifi cally on the oral cavity as it has not been done anywhere else in the world till date. Since the oral mucosa is exposed to the smoke and its toxins from WTS directly, it will defi nitely help in studying the eff ects on it at a cellular and genetic level. The general public perception is that WTS is harmless. The waterpipe used just as other forms of tobacco use can be regulated if there is more awareness of its health eff ects. We collected socio-demographical, behavioral data pertaining to WTS and cigarette smoking in the region and studied their toxicological eff ects on the oral mucosa.