A hookah is really not that cool

The fluffy cushions, colourful drapes and coloured sheesha are enticing enough. Gangly groups of youngsters don’t mind collecting money — just enough for an hour’s worth of flavoured smoke. It’s fun, it’s cool and well, it’s ‘exotic’ to group-smoke from a single hookah. And many believe it is better than the stick. Right? Wrong. As much as it sounds like a fun pastime activity, doctors warn that it is “even more harmful than smoking a cigarette.” Now, don’t go lighting that butt, doctors maintain it is a killer as well.

Less than a week after the world celebrated World No Tobacco Day, DNA spoke to youngsters to find out what they think of their ‘cool hookah habit’. No doubt, most felt it was as harmless as a friendly Labrador. But, Dr Pratima Murthy, Professor of Psychiatry and Chief, Centre for Addiction Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans), points out that the health risks attached to hookah smoking “are no less detrimental than those of cigarettes. Any type of smoking reduces appetite. It also kills certain nutrients in the body, which are essential for the immune system. Loss of appetite may result in weight loss,” she says.

The tobacco in a hookah pipe is no less toxic, and the water in the hookah does not filter out the toxic ingredients in the tobacco smoke. Hookah smokers may actually end up inhaling more tobacco smoke than cigarette smokers do because of the large volume of smoke they inhale in one smoking session.

Ambience as well as the misnomer that hookahs are safer than cigarette have surely won hookah a lot of following among the young. “I like hookah mainly because of the flavour,” says Anu Phillip, a young animation student. “I think it is very safe and does not have any tobacco in it, I don’t think it would cause any harm to me,” she states.

Don’t be so sure. Doctors point out that like cigarettes, hookah smoke contains high levels of toxic compounds including tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals and carcinogens. And water does not filter out these toxins.

And while youngsters, girls and boys, are happy forming smoke rings, parents are blissfully unaware of their child’s new fascination. “In my class, many girls hang out at hookah parlous and cafés. It has peer acceptance but our families still forbid it strictly,” says Atreyee Bharun Das, a student who’s doing her graduation.
When asked why she smokes a hookah, Meghana Abraham, a student, said, “there’s no reason why I smoke it. It’s just something I like to do.” A sentiment echoed by many others. 
However, there may be some good news, if you term it that. Dr Murthy says: “Hookah smoking is safe for passive smokers as the smoke does not affect them. But with cigarettes, the smoke affects both passive and active smokers.”

But, when an hourly smoking session costs Rs400, who would want to remain passive? Many youngsters go in groups to split the costs. “I like different flavours and it’s not too expensive. I have friends whom I can share with,” says Raghunandan Iyengar, an animation student, who says he is aware of the problems that it can cause but insists that he’s “not a regular tobacco smoker.”