Issue # 36 / August 2003

Hooked on Hookah
Catch the latest craze

By: Nicole Acosta

        When asked if she knew anyone who smokes through a hookah pipe, Monica Moreno, 17, of Lake Worth, said, "Yeah, most of my friends do smoke through pipes. I've heard of pipes, but I've never heard of hookah."

        James Sallee, 17, of Miami Lakes, on the other hand, had heard of hookah in one instance.

        "I hadn't heard of a hookah pipe until I saw Return of the Jedi and Jabba the Hut was sucking on one of them."

        Hookah is quickly becoming a popular method among college and high school students to smoke everything from fruity tobacco blends to hashish and marijuana. About 200 to 300 cafes, clubs and restaurants that rent the water pipes have sprouted in the United States in the last three to five years. Most of them are near college campuses.

        The hookah, which originated in the Mideast and parts of Asia, is an ornate water pipe that is used to burn fruit-flavored lumps of tobacco. The tobacco is drawn from a glass reservoir that rests on the floor. A lump of charcoal keeps about 10 grams of the tobacco constantly burning. It is not a drug and will not get you high. It's not even illegal. In fact, the mixture smoked through the hookah is 30 percent tobacco and 70 percent fruit and molasses.

        Despite the ban on indoor smoking in restaurants and workplaces in Florida, which started in July, hookah bars are not feeling the effects. Bars in warmer climates offer outdoor patio smoking only, or have an entire side of the lounge dedicated to smoking hookah. This qualifies them as family operations, which are exempt from smoking bans.

        The Tantra Restaurant and Lounge located on Miami Beach is just one of the many hookah bars in Florida. Designed to awaken all of the senses, guests are stimulated with a variety of factors, such as the marble waterfall, fresh grass on the floor, and imported aphrodisiac cuisine. Middle Eastern hookah pipes with Egyptian tobacco are also offered at the restaurant.
The Casbah in Jacksonville also has a hookah lounge with three low tables and many big pillows to sit on. It costs eight dollars for 20 to 30 minutes to share the hookah with another person.

        Hala Asah, the owner of the Prince of Egypt Café in Falls Church, Virginia, said in the article "Hookah Bars Become America's Trendiest Gathering Places" by Ted Landphair for Voice of America, that he now has a 90 percent American crowd. "Everybody likes hookah, likes fun," said Asah.

        But while Hookah smoke has very little tar, it does contain nicotine, and is just as addictive as cigarettes. Health officials are concerned about the new craze.

        "The fact is, they are getting into a habit that may ultimately kill them," said Cancer specialist Dr. Herman Kattlove, of the American Cancer Society in an interview posted on NBC4's website, nbc4.tv.




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