Misquotation and Redundant References in Parna et al's Estonian “”Waterpipe”” and Cigarette Smoking Study

Kamal Chaouachi   (2008-12-10 12:17)  Tobacco researcher and consultant (Paris, Middle East)

To The Editor of BMC Public Health:

Parna and colleagues credit Ward et al for stating that “”waterpipes”” “have been used to smoke tobacco and other substances in Africa and Asia for at least four centuries"[1][2].

In fact, this is not the right source and it was one of the errors to be found in the WHO report on ““waterpipe”” smoking that I had clearly highlighted from the onset in the critique of that document [3]. Let it be quoted again:

“Origins. It is said (page 1) that, according to Chattopadhyay, “waterpipes have been used to smoke tobacco and other substances by the indigenous peoples of Africa and Asia for at least four centuries””[4]

Then, the attention of the authors and readers should also be drawn to two redundant bibliographic references: namely 11 and 28 (corresponding to number 2 in the list below)

Dr Kamal Chaouachi

Tobacco researcher and consultant

http://PublicationsList.org/kamal.chaouachi

_____________

References:

[1] Parna K, Usin J, Ringmets I. Cigarette and waterpipe smoking among adolescents in Estonia: HBSC survey results, 1994-2006. BMC Public Health. 2008 Nov 25;8(1):392. [Epub ahead of print]

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/392

[2] Ward KD, Vander Weg MW, Relyea G, Debon M, Klesges RC: Waterpipe smoking among American military recruits. Prev Med 2006, 43:92–97.

[3] Chaouachi K. A Critique of the WHO's TobReg "Advisory Note" entitled: "Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Health Effects, Research Needs and Recommended Actions by Regulators. Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine 2006 (17 Nov); 5:17.

http://www.jnrbm.com/content/5/1/17

[4] Chattopadhyay A: Emperor Akbar as a Healer and his Eminent Physicians. Bull Indian Inst Hist Med Hyderabad 2000, 30(2):151-157.

Competing interests

I have no competing interests. I have never received direct or indirect funding neither from pharmaceutical companies (nicotine ‘‘replacement’’ therapies and products) nor from the tobacco industry.

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