Pass the Pipe

Laying back on a plush purple couch, listening to tranquil Mediterranean music, the sounds of very distinct conversations occur. Simple discussions about one’s work week to conversations in Arabic are mingled with the aroma of Mediterranean dishes that everyone is enjoying. All the while, you and a couple of friends are relaxing, smoking hookah with your flavor of choice, apple-mint.


This is the scene that has become a popular trend among people across the country. Hookah, which is an ancient form of smoking, originated from the Middle East and parts of Asia and has grown in popularity in the United States. Specifically, it has become a new relaxing hobby for people between the ages of 18-24 years old. Of course, college students are the notable consumers of hookah; there are a number of “hookah lounges” around college campuses in many states. The increasing trend of smoking hookah has also caused for the opening of new “hookah lounges.” At a Mediterranean hookah lounge, the cultural feel is unique. The complexity Mediterranean dishes and music are a product of cultures like India, Iran, Turkey, and other regions. Unlike a noisy club or an ordinary bar, these lounges offer a relaxing kind of environment, as it is obvious from the above description.


It’s simple, all you need is a hookah stand (which you fill the base with water), a hose, a pipe, and a bowl to place to the flavored tobacco and a heated charcoal. Even more proof of hookah’s popularity, anybody can purchase their own hookah either online or at local shops. Websites like customhookah.com offers a variety of different hookahs ranging in size, color and decoration. In addition, the website advertises a number of different flavors and a small fee for a box of charcoal, if needed. Buying a hookah stand, without the flavors and charcoal, can range in price from twenty to a hundred dollars, depending on size and quality the consumer wants.


So, it sounds pretty good: a safe, relaxing, accessible, increasingly popular trend. However, there is a catch. Critics of this new hobby have voiced concerns about the health risks of hookah. Hookah is perceived as a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. However, this is not true. Groups such as the American Lung Association and the World Health Organization, are warning that hookah is the same old tobacco product, using a different device. For one, since hookah is smoked through a pipe rather than a filter, like a cigarette, a person is smoking longer. In fact, they are smoking forty-five minutes longer, which delivers 36 times more tar, 15 times more carbon monoxide, and seventy percent more nicotine than a cigarette. Can anyone say lung cancer? However, despite the attempted backlash, sales on hookah has skyrocketed. Hookah is a communal hobby that is catching on and it doesn’t seem as though it will be dying down anytime soon.