Hookah, also known as shisha, goza, or chica in other countries, has recently spiked in popularity, along with being more socially accepted around the nation, according to Mochi magazine. But what effects does it actually have on the body? Is hookah “safe?”
Hookah can be used an alternative to smoking cigarettes, while others enjoy it and see it as a fun, exotic experience. Teenagers and college age students use hookah to socialize, a habit that started in other cultures that Americans have picked it up from said Mary McDaniel, assistant director of student wellness.
“I’ve only been one time to a hookah bar for my friend’s 18th birthday party, and I could see why some people would see it entertaining,” said Nicole Henderson, sophomore pre-pharmacy major.
In moderation, hookah does not cause many effects on the body, but one way it differs from other tobacco products is its ability to be used for a longer period of time. A misconception of hookah is that may be a safer activity compared to other tobacco or alcohol products but that is not always the case.
“Some studies actually show that it may even be worse (than cigarettes?) because a lot of the hookah sessions last an hour or more, with smoke being drawn deeper into the lungs than a typical cigarette smoker,” McDaniel said.
Kenton Hallowell, sophomore business major, said he tried smoking hookah with some of his friends a little after his eighteenth birthday.
“It does give you a little head high in a way, and I like it because it relaxes me,” Kenton said.
Kenton said he smokes it a couple times a month with a group of friends. He also has an electronic hookah stick that he uses – sometimes by himself.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, these battery-powered devices turn liquid containing nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals into a vapor, which is then inhaled.
“I have a lot of friends that do use tobacco products and have never tried hookah before, so I don’t think it is addictive for me in any way,” Kenton said. “I’ve done it a handful of times but I don’t have a desire to do it. I just think it’s fun to do some times.”
McDaniel said people are able to casually smoke hookah, but it is not something tobacco users should turn to because they think it is safer.
In hookah, the water pipe indirectly heats the tobacco. Then, the resulting smoke passes through a column of water before being inhaled through the mouthpiece.
These two unique features of hookah are assumed to minimize its tobacco-related health hazards. Also, water pipe smoke is made at a lower temperature than cigarette smoking, which suggests the toxins through hookah are different than other tobacco prices, according to Oxford Journals International Journal of Epidemiology.
One of the more short term issues that can be followed from hookah is the sicknesses that can follow. McDaniel has seen these cases come from the usage hookah.
“Anything that can be spread through be either respiratory or oral discretions can be transmitted that way from minor to very serious,” McDaniel said.
