Smoking is a fairly prevalent vice at Georgetown. We have all walked past that guy in the GERMS shirt smoking on the Village C Patio, and there is nothing new about having to pass through the eternal smoke cloud in front of Lauinger in order to get some studying done. But the other day, on the lawn, I noticed another kind of smoke cloud—a trendy, exotic, fruity kind of smoke cloud. This one looked fun and inviting, and fairly harmless, especially since it was being generated by a vibrantly colored, narrow vessel at the center of a social circle of girls in sundresses.
Hookah, an Indian tradition, appears to be light-hearted and good-natured enough. Most see the smooth, water-filled smoke, and instinctively believe that all the chemical toxins and carcinogens have been filtered away, drowned out, and completely replaced by all of that white peach flavoring. But in reality, a hookah habit isn’t any better than a cigarette habit. According to a World Health Organization advisory, a one-hour session of hookah smoking exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. So, even if hookah is just a Saturday night social activity, it comes with some hidden health risks.
Hookah allows users to inhale a larger volume of tobacco smoke than cigarettes do, but that smoke is filled with just as many, if not more, toxic compounds. If you are inhaling hookah smoke, you are inhaling tar, nicotine, and other carcinogens, so you can’t expect to avoid cancer any more than the average cigarette smoker.
Hookah has two additional health risks, which may make it an even worse stress-reliever than the classic cigarette. Often, wood cinders or charcoal are used to burn the tobacco. When substances like these are burned, they release some pretty toxic chemicals, including heavy metals and carbon monoxide. The other problem with hookah is the sharing of mouthpieces amongst a group of friends, and even among strangers, if hookah bars provide customers with mouthpieces that have not been sufficiently cleaned or sanitized. These are ideal conditions for the spread of germs, bacteria, and infection. Anything that can spread via saliva can spread via hookah, which means that smoking hookah puts you at greater risk for transmission of viruses like herpes and hepatitis.
Despite all of the equally ugly health risks, hookah seems to have a much greater appeal for college students than cigarettes do. To begin, it is a fairly affordable habit. (And I say habit because it is, in fact, addictive.) At somewhere between five and 25 dollars for a pipe at a cafe, the average college student doesn’t need to worry too much about breaking the bank. The large variety of flavors means there’s always something new to try. The social aspect is important as well—it’s a relaxing, low-key activity to engage in when hanging out with a group of friends. For those who prefer something slightly more serene than the average party or bar-hopping scene, hookah can seem like a pretty good alternative outlet. Finally, hookah is steeped in a tradition and culture that is foreign and new to most of us. It has the appeal of all things strange and unfamiliar, the appeal of curiosity and imagination.
While all good scholars value curiosity and imagination, don’t let yourself get carried away. Reality and awareness are just as important, and separating fact from fiction is essential. So don’t let yourself get caught up in the myths and mystique that serve to mask the unpleasant truth—smoking hookah isn’t nearly as harmless as it appears.
Teach Sadaf how to inhale at squreshi@georgetownvoice.com
