3.2. Charcoal total metal analysis
A contributing factor to the amount of toxic metals inhaled comes
from the charcoal; therefore, an extraction was performed with both
brands to determine the maximum amount of toxic metals a smoker
could be exposed to from the hookah charcoal (Table 2). Table 3 lists
the 26 metal isotopes detected in the mainstream smoke from the coconut
and wood-based charcoals. Saadawi et al. [40] found that Coco Nara
and Fantasia contained ppm levels of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Pb. Similar
results were found for this study. Both brands had appreciably high
amounts of toxic metals per hookah head, other than Ni, which was
below the limits of detection. Considering each charcoal brick was
pressed from a variety of wood products [40] (possibly Cr/As treated
scrap lumber), it is not surprising that the metal content of the bricks
also would vary dramatically