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The hookah's hidden (c)harm Story by Christen Vidanovic I’ve never used a hookah, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t give it a try. With their shiny brass bodies, flamboyantly colorful bowls and aromatic emissions, I’d be hard pressed to say no. But the colorful contraption is only the beginning of the hookah’s allure. Just the word ‘hookah’ leaves me dreaming of dim lighting, friendly conversation, comfy, rich-hued pillows and some eastern culture that I know nothing about but that sounds awfully enchanting. Plus, the caterpillar from Alice In Wonderland smoked a hookah and he was one of the best characters in the movie. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of places in Hawaii where a girl can snuggle deep into big, fluffy pillows and puff orange-cream flavored tobacco till she’s dizzy. Last November, Hawaii passed a smoking ban that prohibits smoking inside any buildings and within 20 feet of any doorways. That law stopped the hookah’s potential boom in Hawaii. Even before the law went into effect there were only a couple places on Oahu where you could find hookah, and most of them were bars like the Pink Cadillac. Since the ban, the only ways to get your hookah fix is to buy your own water pipe from a smoke shop or to start hanging out with the hippies that you’ve always planned on avoiding. Although I’m not averse to the thought of hookah smoking (or other mind altering substances – after I graduate, of course), I do realize that it has its dangers. It is tobacco, after all. Ah, but the lure of hookah can be deceiving, which probably explains it’s recent popularity surge among the 18- to 25- crowd.The problem with youth these days is that they don’t research anything; they believe anything they hear. Many seem to be under the impression that since the smoke is filtered through water, there are fewer chemicals, toxins and nicotine entering your lungs. They’re wrong. But people have been wrong about the risks of hookah smoking for centuries. Hakim Abul Fath invented the water pipe sometime during the late 16th century and suggested that tobacco “smoke should be first passed through a small receptacle of water so that it would be rendered harmless,” according to study conducted by the World Health Organization. It seems that college students weren’t the first to think hookahs are healthy.Hookah 101 Get ready for Hookah 101. Although the hookah originated in India, the device gained the most popularity in Turkey. Hookahs are traditionally called nargile, and generally consist of a lule (head), marpuc (body), govde (water bowl), and agislik (hose and mouthpiece). Moist sheesha (tobacco) is placed in the head, covered with perforated aluminum foil and topped with charcoal. The charcoal is lit and then inhaled through the hose, which creates a vacuum above the water, and the air is drawn through the body and over the tobacco and charcoal.The smoke then passes through the waterpipe body, bubbles through the water in the bowl and is carried through the hose to the smoker. Traditionally, the tobacco used was of the finest quality, along with oak charcoal and dried fruit for flavor. But we live in modern times, so plastic packed tobacco shipped thousands of miles will have to suffice. Safer than cigs? Contrary to popular belief, hookah smoking is potentially equally or more dangerous than smoking cigarettes, depending on how often you smoke hookah and how often people smoke cigarettes, according to the WHO. Since one hour long hookah session may be the equivalent of consuming 100 cigarettes, hookah smoking should probably be saved for special occasions, if at all. The problem with hookah smoking isn’t just the nicotine though. The WHO points out that because hookahs employ wood cinders or charcoal to burn the tobacco, hookah smokers are likely ingesting other toxins, including high levels of carbon monoxide, metals and cancer-causing chemicals. At least it smells better than inhaling it straight from the back of your truck, right? Lung massacre Although the risks associated with hookah smoking seem well hidden by the tobacco mass media conglomerates that are trying to fry your lungs, there are plenty of people ready to share their hookah knowledge with you. One of them is Tyson Suzuki, a student at the University of Hawaii who has been researching the cancer risks associated with tobacco for over five years. He and the WHO seem to have something in common: they both know that people are stupid when it comes to hookah. “It’s actually worse than they think. The hookah cools the smoke and allows their lungs to take in more,” said Suzuki. The cooler the smoke is, the deeper into your lungs it can go, which increases the risk of emphysema, according to a Honolulu Advertiser article. Hookah on the rise? Even though hookah use seems to be on the rise on the mainland, Hawaii residents don’t seem to be buying into the watermelon-apricot-apple-pina colada tobacco craze. When I asked around, I could only find one friend of a friend who had a hookah, and I’ve got a lot of friends. Holy Smokes has seen an increase in hookah sales, but cigarettes still seem to have an edge on the hookah industry. Whether they’re puffing on a cancer stick or inhaling through a multi-hued hose, people that smoke tobacco are at a higher risk for lung cancer than anybody else. Informing yourself of the risks associated with any substance that you choose to put in your body should be the first thing you do- yes, even before hitting up a hookah web site for some razzmatazz tobacco. |
