On February 2, 2015, the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Council approved a new SOT Issue Statement on hookah water pipe use. SOT Council would like to thank the writing team of Judith T. Zelikoff, Terry Gordon, Anthony R. Schatz, Clive Meredith, Laura S. Van Winkle, and nonmember Michael L. Weitzman for their work in drafting the statement.
The Issue Statement was developed under the Issue Statement procedure that was approved by SOT Council in 2010. As part of the approval process, SOT membership was given the opportunity to review and offer feedback on the draft statement in November 2014. The Hookah Issue Statement Writing Team wants to thank the members who supplied comments on the earlier draft. The comments were considered and represented in the final version approved by Council.
Upon the Issue Statement’s approval on February 2, a number of actions were taken by SOT and members to share the information contained within the Hookah Issue Statement:
- The Issue Statement was posted to the SOT website.
- A press release on the Issue Statement was distributed through two mainstream media wire services and a wire service dedicated to college newspaper editors. The topic also was pitched to a handful of selected reporters.
- A newspaper-style, shortened version of the piece was distributed through a service called NAPS, which places editorial articles in newspapers and online sites.
- Postings were made to the SOT Facebook and Twitter accounts.
- SOT President Norbert E. Kaminski sent an email to SOT membership asking everyone to share graphics on hookah with their followers on social media. Thank you to everyone who has shared the content thus far.
SOT Council hopes to continue the reach of the Hookah Issue Statement by continuing to share information from it through various communication channels in the coming months/years.
If you would like to suggest a topic for the next SOT Issue Statement, please review the SOT Statements Procedure and submit a proposal form.