Mumbai: Engineer hospitalized after sniffing 'magic coal' hookah
What's the story
Who could have imagined hookah, the famous party regular, can be this risky to someone? A 29-year-old engineer got a bite of that after he smoked 'magic coal' hookah for two months and had to be hospitalized with severe chest infection.
Doctors at the Chembur-based Zen hospital said that the man bought magic coal to sniff for his new hookah he got from Singapore.
Details
Scan showed white patches in chest indicating infection
A CT scan showed the presence of white patches in the man's chest that can be an indication of the infection caused by bacteria, according to Dr Arvind Kate, pulmonologist of the hospital. He reported breathlessness too.
He was being treated with antibacterial and antifungal medicines for two weeks. "He was discharged recently and has been asked to abstain from smoking," Dr Kate added.
Can cause cancer
Why you should avoid magic coal?
Magic coal, an extremely popular hookah accompaniment, is basically charcoal drenched in chemicals for faster ignition.
However, the burning of the chemicals release harmful gases like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide that choke the respiratory system.
Cancer specialists say that magic coal and other hookah flavors contain close to 30 carcinogenic substances. The absence of tobacco doesn't matter in this case, does it?