Abstract
Aim of the article is to present the thesis that simple education about water pipe misconceptions could be one of the surprisingly effective ways to influence water pipe use among adolescents. Systematic reviews are suggesting global epidemic of water pipe smoking and are warning about probable adverse health consequences.
The present situation of water pipe epidemiology is reviewed with the focus on water pipe myths and misconceptions surrounding its use. With this in mind, the recent research about water pipe education effectiveness is discussed which supports the above thesis, even though it's somehow contra-intuitive, because only education by itself is not usually effective for influencing adolescents' smoking behaviour.
However, case of water pipe may be different. Proposed thesis will be further supported by the case and additional analysis of recently conducted formative evaluation of Czech school-based smoking prevention program for the 7th grade students of elementary schools (N=202).
The change of intention to smoke water pipe was observed among students (p=0,001), but not the change of intention to smoke cigarettes (p=0,37), despite the fact that the program was focused almost solely on cigarettes smoking. The effectiveness of brief education (5 min) could be possibly explained by many myths surrounding the water pipe to begin with.
Despite the fact that there is not enough of strong empirical evidence to support the proposed thesis, available data are suggesting potential for further research in this area.