Hookah smoking is not nearly as safe as college students may think. In fact, studies show it is just as bad, if not worse than traditional cigarette smoking.
A hookah is a multi-stemmed, often glass-based, water pipe device for smoking tobacco. Often flavored by molasses, the tobacco is heated by charcoal and passes through a water-filled chamber, which cools the smoke before the smoker inhales it.
“There’s a myth that the smoke is filtered by the water,” says Thomas Eissenberg, associate professor of psychology and co-author of a hookah study, published in the April issue of Preventive Medicine. “The smoke passes through gurgling water before the user inhales it, but every risk of cigarette smoking is also associated with water pipes.”
Four different restaurants near campus offer hookah smoking: Aladdin’s (North Laurel and Broad Street) Ali Babba (West Marshall Street), CasaBlanca (West Main Street) and Sahara (West Grace Street).
The sweet taste of hookah tobacco attracts students, even those who oppose cigarette smoking.
“What I’ve noticed is a huge misunderstanding by students. The way they underestimate the risk for hookahs, they think the chemicals aren’t there,” said Linda Hancock, assistant director of the Office of Health Promotion. “They don’t understand the nicotine, and they don’t understand the risk they’re taking. They also don’t know that it’s addictive.”
Eissenberg said a hookah, which lasts for about 45 minutes, delivers 36 times more tar than a cigarette, 15 times more carbon monoxide and 70 percent more nicotine.
“The water pipe is another method of tobacco use, one that we should not ignore as we fight the tobacco epidemic,” Eissengerg said. “Past experience has taught us that ignoring the epidemiology and health effects of tobacco-use products can lead to a public health disaster that may have been preventable.”