addiction

Statistics Increase With Hookah Use In College Students: Smoking bans are being issued all across the country. Before the early 1990’s you smoke just about anywhere from restaurants to airports. It all started with assigned sections for smoking and non-smoking. During the 2000’s however, smoking has become obsolete is most restaurants and completely illegal in airports. While smoking lines are being drawn, hookah popularity is being casted.

Hookahs, which are originally from India is also known as a water pipe. It can be a single one, where one person smokes from or a multi-stemmed one, where many people can smoke from at the same time. A hookah consists of a smoke chamber, a house, a pipe and a bowl. It uses charcoal to heat specially made tobacco, which has been soaked in molasses or honey. Many cafes are offering different styles such as jasmine, mango, and mint rose pedals, bubble gum and more. The hookah gives the smoker a mellower, smoother smoke than what comes from a cigarette.

Hookahs are popping up in many different places, like downtown cafes and of course, coffee shops. These hookahs have attracted a younger generation, which have become a very popular item for many places around college campuses.

A study given created by researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center shows just how popular hookahs have become.

“The popularity of hookah smoking among young adults is quite alarming given the potential for negative health effects,” stated Erin L. Sutfin, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy and lead author on the study. “Unfortunately, many young adults are misinformed about the safety of hookah smoking and some mistakenly believe it to be safer than cigarette smoking.”

As of now, there is very little research that shows evidence on hookah use by young adults in the United States, but with the popularity increasing, researchers are making it a priority to know more.

A web-based survey was sent to a number of randomly drawn students from 8 different North Carolina universities and colleges. This survey asked students about drug habits, smoking patterns and about the students who might know about these activities around school.

The study showed that 40.3 percent, which is more than a third of the all the students surveyed has said that they had smoked tobacco from a hookah. 46.6 percent reported that they had smoked a cigarette. 25 percent of students have reported that they were current smokes of cigarettes while 17.4 percent said that they were currently smoking tobacco through a hookah.

The study showed that more freshmen and makes were using hookahs. It also showed connections between those smoking from hookahs and those smoking cigarettes. The connections were a history of illegal drugs or alcohol. Many students who claim to be a smoker of both also stated that they have done illegal drugs or drank in 30 days prior to the survey. The students who were found to smoke from a hookah believed that their chances of health risks were down because they chose a hookah over a cigarette. They believed it to be less harmful.

“The smoke produced by hookahs is a very mild smoke that may be appealing to non-cigarette smokers as a starter product,” Sutfin said. She added that 22 percent of respondents who identified as hookah users had never tried a cigarette, suggesting that hookahs may be their first tobacco product. Cigarette smoke, by comparison, is a very harsh smoke, which can be irritating, Sutfin explained.

“Likely because of the pleasant aroma and taste, users may inhale more deeply over a longer period of time,” she said. “This results in hookah smokers actually inhaling a larger volume of tobacco smoke than cigarette smokers do.”