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Appalachian students engage in hookah hobby |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
 Students smoke from a hookah outside their residence hall. Holt Menzies
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By KELSEY OHLEGER
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
When one hears of the flavors cherry, butterscotch, vanilla and strawberry, they may think of ice cream or candy.
Lately, many students associate these flavors with a popular pastime of smoking hookah.
Smoking hookah is a popular hobby for many college students. Gathering in a circle to talk and smoke is a way to relax and meet new friends.
“I was introduced to hookah a few weeks ago,” freshman international
business major Alio Na-Allah said. “Ever since, I have begun noticing
groups of people gathering around campus to smoke.”
While hookah has recently gained popularity among young adults in the
United States, hookah pipes have been around for hundreds of years.
According to hookahhookah.com, the original design for the hookah came
from India or Persia, but it was in Turkey that the pipe completed its
revolution to become what we now know as a “hookah pipe.”
When smoking hookah, one is actually smoking shisha through a hookah pipe.
Shisha is a blend of fresh, dark leaves, fruit pulp, honey or molasses and glycerin, according to the Web site.
It can be purchased on the Internet at numerous sites and locally in Boone at Expressions in New Market Center.
Shisha is made in a variety of flavors including banana, blackberry,
chocolate, cinnamon, cola, fruit punch, green apple, key lime pie,
margarita, pina colada, pumpkin pie, rose and spearmint.
“Expressions offers a vast array of shisha for only about $2 for a small tub,” M. Kristene Carter said.
Carter is a sophomore English major who began smoking hookah before she transitioned to college.
“I smoke [hookah] for the different flavors,” Carter said. “I like the rose flavor best because it tastes like perfume smells.”
Trying all flavors of shisha may be enjoyable, but it can be harmful to your body.
“I think hookah is bad for you, but not as bad as cigarettes or
marijuana,” Naallah said. “It doesn’t burn your chest like smoking a
cigarette does.”
Although to many smoking hookah may seem less harsh compared to
cigarettes, studies have shown that inhaling hookah smoke is actually
worse than cigarette smoke.
According to a recent World Health Organization study, a hookah smoker
inhales 100 to 200 times the amount of smoke compared to that of a
single cigarette in one hour.
Even though hookah smoke must pass through water, it still contains
toxic compounds such as carbon monoxide, heavy metals and carcinogens.
Since hookah smokers inhale more smoke, they are actually inhaling more nicotine.
According to hookahviews.com, smoke from a water pipe produces around
three milligrams of nicotine, while cigarette smoke only contains
around one and a half milligrams.
While it is not very common for smokers to become addicted to hookah, it has become a gateway to cigarettes.
Hookah smoke could actually invoke a smoking habit due to the fact that
young people are the most sensitive to becoming addicted to nicotine,
medical editor at the American Cancer Society, Dr. Herman Kattlove said
on hookahview.com.
Due to young people’s sensitivity to nicotine, hookah and cigarettes are banned to Americans under the age of 18.
For those of age, hookah bars are also gaining popularity.
Most of these establishments offer food, drinks, entertainment and hookah.
Boone does not currently have a hookah bar, but there are many across North Carolina.
Winston-Salem’s Bon Appetit Mediterranean Café offers hookah, as well as Hookah Joe’s in Asheville.
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