Study warns of risks from hookah smoke

Smoke is in the air, music is playing and the atmosphere is ideal for relaxation. That's the typical scene for many of the 19 hookah bars in San Diego County, said San Diego County Tobacco Control Coalition Director Kathy Sullivan.

Many of these bars are concentrated in and around the College Area and Pacific Beach, and are often popular hangouts for college students.

A study by the American Lung Association titled "An Emerging Deadly Trend" looked at the accelerated popularity of hookah in the United States within the last few years and some of the health issues related to it.

"Eighteen- to 20-year-olds are not old enough to go to the bars yet, so they are looking for an outlet of venues that provides a social atmosphere," said Harry Sevel, owner of the Egyptian Tea Room on College Avenue.

Hookah is a long, flexible tube attached to a thin pipe that draws flavored tobacco smoke filtered through water in a bowl. The foil-covered bowl of the hookah pipe can be packed with an array of exotic tobacco flavors. Holes are poked in the foil, allowing the heat from the chunks of burning coal resting on top of the foil to filter through the bowl, igniting the flavors and effects of the tobacco.

The study called hookah "the first new tobacco trend of the 21st century."

"Our concern is that people are underplaying the fact that what is used in hookah is a tobacco-based product," said Sullivan, who is a San Diego State alumna.

A standard 20-gram "head" of unflavored tobacco used in hookah encompasses nicotine levels comparable to 70 cigarettes, according to the Tobacco Control Coalition. A smoking session lasting at least 45 minutes will result in a blood nicotine level increase substantially higher than that of smoking 21 cigarettes, according to the report.

But despite the health dangers, hookah still seems to be popular among many

students.

"I liked it," kinesiology junior Nick Thomas said. "It's a good way for students and friends to socialize. It's like smoking a cigar, but going to the hookah bar is a more pre-arranged event."

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