by Steve Monroe, Senior, Framingham State College

Hookah smoking, historically popular in Turkey and other countries in the Middle East, has made its way to the U.S. The American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment data indicates that 7 to 8% of college students had used a hookah in the last 30 days. While that number is relatively small, hookah lounges and bars have been opening across the country.

�I think others find it exotic and maybe risqu�,� says Gina Fraumeni, a senior at Framingham State College in Massachusetts.

Dr. Aran Kadar, a pulmonologist practicing in Newton, Massachusetts, says that students may be attracted to the novelty and the social element of smoking in a hookah bar. �There are also fruit flavors that make smoking it appealing.�

Don�t Be Fooled
Some users think this type of smoking is safer than cigarettes because of the sweet tobacco and because hookahs are water pipes, which are exempt from many state smoking bans.

"The water filtration is probably a false sense of comfort,� says Kadar. �The smoke is filtered and cooled by the water, but it doesn't eliminate all the harm from the smoke.�

The smoke from hookahs, much like the smoke from cigarettes, contains hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons can damage epithelial cells, the type of cells that line your mouth, esophagus, and lungs. These and other harmful chemicals in hookah smoke can cause heart disease, cancer, and addiction, just like cigarettes and other tobacco products. Furthermore, the January 2008 issue of U.S. News and World Report claims a person may inhale the equivalent of 100 cigarettes in a single hookah session.

Dr. Thomas Eissenberg, a psychology professor at Virginia Commonwealth
University in Richmond who has studied hookah use, also warns that because the pipes are often used in 30- to 45- minute sessions, users take a lot of nicotine into their system, which can make hookah smoking very addictive.

About the Author
STEVE MONROE IS A COMMUNICATIONS MAJOR AT FRAMINGHAM STATE COLLEGE IN MASSACHUSETTS.