Particulate matter pollution in Hookah lounges in Palestine

Hookahs, or water pipes, are ornate glass bowl structures used to smoke tobacco products, often in private or public social settings. Hookah smoking is believed to have originated in ancient India in the 16th century; however, it has seen rapid global expansion over the last two decades. A number of studies using high-cost, regulatory or research grade instruments have found respirable particulate concentrations in hookah lounges up to several hundred micrograms per cubic meter. In the summer of 2018, a study was initiated examining the PM2.5 concentrations in several hookah lounges in Nablus and Tulkarm, Palestine (West Bank). However, rather than using the typical high-cost system, low-cost laser light scattering and detection systems were used. Observed PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 84 to 371 mu g/m(3), concentrations considered to be of notable health concerns in the indoor environment and well within the range of hookah-related particulate matter reported in the literature. Further, examination of the 10-min average temporal PM2.5 concentrations showed variable correlation with the number of active smokers and a seeming dependency on the type of building ventilation. The employed low-cost particulate systems proved capable of reliably quantifying PM2.5 levels in a variety of hookah lounges, as well as being able to characterize the temporal nature of the PM2.5 concentration changes. The results of this study suggest that these systems may be an economic and reliable alternative for particulate studies.