Carbon monoxide poisoning secondary to hookah smoking

Hookah smoking, at one time confined to North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean region, the Arabian peninsula, and Southeast Asia, has begun to spread throughout the world. As some practices of eastern and Arab cultures reach the United States, the number of people using hookah on an experimental or regular basis has increased. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be a common adverse effect, possibly undetected by physicians, in hookah smokers. The authors report a case of carbon monoxide poisoning secondary to smoking tobacco through a hookah.