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Hooka On The Rise
For the college age population, smoking hookah has become a cultural trend. The large pipes, many having multiple hoses, are set up and lit filling the room with the fresh sweet aroma of their flavored tobacco.
According to the National Health Foundation, more hookah bars have been established in recent years around college campuses than around Arab-American communities (the communities in which hookah plays a historic and traditional role).
Hookah originated in ancient north India and Pakistan. It quickly spread throughout the Persian Kingdom and found its place amongst almost all the middle-eastern cultures. Hookah, also commonly known as shisha, made its way west during the Victorian era; however, it didn’t break into mainstream western culture until the 1960’s.
Today, it once again has made a come back as more youth are turning to the retro trends of the bohemian ‘peace and love’ days. Yet most who lift a hosepipe have fallen under the common misconception that hookah is less harmful.
“I don’t smoke cigarettes,” said COS student Sarah Anderson, “but I do, do hookah.”
Smoking hookah usually is used in a social context; friends gather to relax and spend anywhere from 30min to several hours smoking. During these prolonged sessions one can inhale 50 to 200 times, resulting in breathing up to 100 times more smoke then a regular cigarette.
“The smoke is filtered through the water, making it safer to smoke,” Said another student, Samantha Cloer. This is another colloquially misconception concerning hookah.
The water at the base of the large hookah pipe is actually less efficient then the tiny filters of a cigarette. However, the moisture included in the smoke, due to the simple water filter, makes it less irritating to inhale, giving it a safer illusion.
Though softer on the throat, the watered filtered tobacco still contains high levels carbon monoxide and toxic metal components. The National Health Foundation also discovered that the nicotine from the hookah tobacco can be just as addicting due to the large amounts of smoke inhaled in one sitting.
In hookahs defense, many students find it to be soothing and relaxing. Just as cigarettes it can provide monetary comfort. However, it is not practical to carry around a hookah pipe and smoke it throughout the day, as someone could with a pack a cigarettes kept in their pocket. Hookah is more of a social activity, carried out by most only on special occasions, making the addictive concerns less.
Picking up the pipe can be a great social and soothing experience for college students. Though it is important for one to acknowledge their health and rid their minds of the myths and misconceptions.
Drew Reagan
College Media Network