Up In Smoke

Both hookah and cigarettes are forms of inhaling tobacco, but seen in two different shades of light.
The hookah first made its appearance in ancient Persia and India in the 12th century. It can be seen popularized in films such as Alice in Wonderland, and is trend seen among students at college campuses everywhere. Believed to be key for socializing, hookah bars are also well-known across the United States.
In 2006 alone, it is estimated that 600 hookah bars opened up in the United States. A typical hookah consists of a metal body, a water bowl and a flexible mouthpiece. When smoking a hookah, one may choose from a variety of different flavored tobacco, which is heated by flame on top of the hookah, sending smoke through water and then allowing the smoke to be inhaled through a rubber hose ending in a mouthpiece.
Hookah sessions, as they are commonly referred as, can last up to one hour, which can contain up to 200 puffs, and 90,000 milliliters of tobacco at one time, compared to an average of 20 puffs, or 500-600 milliliters inhaled at one time while smoking a cigarette. That said, the question still stands: is smoking a hookah, often glorified by its social attributes and fancy looking designs, safer than smoking cigarettes?
When asked about his thoughts on whether or not smoking hookah was safer than smoking cigarettes, Plymouth State University Junior Robert Greenleaf, also an active member of the University's baseball team jokingly admitted that although he wasn't a doctor, he believed that smoking hookah most likely involved "less additives than cigarettes," but was quick to add that he doesn't participate in either regardless
In recent studies, it has been shown that contrary to Greenleaf's belief, hookah smoking contains the same high levels of toxic compounds that cigarettes do; tar, carbon monoxide, and cancer-causing chemicals. Hookahs also deliver the same dangerous chemical, nicotine, causing the hookah user to sometimes develop the same addictive traits that come about with cigarette smoking. It has also been shown that hookah smokers are actually exposed to more carbon monoxide in one hookah smoking session than cigarette smokers do in smoking one cigarette.
When questioned about how often she's participated in recreational hookah smoking, first year student, Jennifer Cordes admitted that she has smoked hookah at least twice a month since arriving at PSU. Though she adds that she doesn't necessarily think it healthier than smoking cigarettes, she enjoys it more due to its social aspects. She also disclosed that each time she has smoked hookah, it has been with a group of friends.
Haley Kreiensieck, a PSU junior, had the similar thought process of Cordes, describing that "there is a huge social aspect of smoking hookah. No one really smokes it alone."
Kreiensieck feels as if smoking hookah is more popular among groups of kids because "hookah smoking is not only legal but socially acceptable and not as frowned upon as cigarette smoking and/or smoking marijuana." But should it be?
Minus the 'good' seen by frequent hookah smokers, more awareness should be brought to light. Studies show that smoking hookah is in fact more dangerous than smoking cigarettes. Dr. Lowell Dale, a Mayo Clinic internist states that smoking a hookah is no less dangerous than smoking cigarettes purely because "the tobacco is no less toxic in a hookah pipe, and the water in the hookah does not filter out the toxic ingredients in the tobacco smoke," and often times is more of a health risk to the hookah user because they are more likely to "inhale more tobacco smoke than cigarette smokers do because of the large volume of smoke they inhale in one smoking session."
It is also found that due to the long session of hookah smoking with deeper inhales and higher frequency of puffs that the hookah smoker is more likely to partake in, hookah absorbs higher concentrations of toxins than found in cigarette smoke. Dr. Dale goes on to describe that smoking tobacco from a hookah can lead to equal if not worse health effects than smoking cigarettes, including but not limited to, heart disease and lung, bladder and oral cancers. Is that one quick taste of flavored tobacco really worth your time?