Hookahs: alternative to alcohol

There is something about smoking a water pipe college students find appealing - perhaps it's the bubbles.

A recent study conducted at Virginia Commonwealth University reported that of the 700 students surveyed, more than 40 percent reported having used a water pipe in the previous year.

"The social aspect of hookah is a great thing," said manager and owner of the Gypsy Café Hookah Lounge on Calhoun Avenue, Abdi Cheik. "I smoke hookah everyday."

Contrary to popular belief, water pipe is more detrimental to the human body than cigarettes, according to a 2005 World Health Organization report.

Cigarette smokers roughly inhale 0.6 liters of smoke during a five to seven minute period. On the other hand, water pipe sessions typically last 20 to 80 minutes, during which a smoker may take 50 to 200 drags, ranging from about 0.15 to 1 liter each, according to the report.

In other words, a typical one-hour water pipe smoking session involves inhaling 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled with a single cigarette, according to the WHO.

"With cigarettes, a person can smoke them all them time," Cheik said. "How many people do you see walking with a hookah on their back?"

Rather than under-age students drinking or having their friends buy alcohol for them, Cheik said he's proud there is a place for students to get together.

"The cultural diversity of smoking hookah brings people together," Cheik said. "Eighteen, 19 and 20-year-olds cannot go to bars. This is a place where those people can be part of the social scene."

As of late, water pipes have been marketed to be portable with some accessories claiming to reduce the harmfulness of the smoke. Such accessories include plastic mesh fittings to create smaller bubbles and mouthpieces containing activated charcoal or cotton, according to the WHO.

The pipes, also known as hookahs, shishas or nargielahs pepper the streets of Middle Eastern towns and cities, are used to smoke a wide variety of flavored or sweetened tobacco. Some of the flavors include apple, cherry, sweet melon, strawberry, grape, mint, apricot, peach and banana.

The water pipe's complex engineering is aesthetically pleasing as much as it serves to provide smoking pleasure.

When one inhales via the hose, air is pulled through the coal and into the bowl. The air, hot from the charcoal, roasts, rather than burns the tobacco, producing smoke. This smoke passes down through the body tube, which extends into the water in the jar.

It bubbles up through the water and fills the top part of the jar, to which the hose is attached. When a smoker inhales from the hose, smoke passes into the lungs, and the change in pressure in the jar pulls more air through the charcoal, continuing the process, according to the WHO.

Some businesses around the Cincinnati area offer water pipe as part of their atmosphere. Across from Panera on Calhoun Street, the Gypsy Café Hookah Lounge opened in November 2006.

Open from noon to 4 a.m. on the weekends, the café provides a place for students to get some late-night studying in, or relax after a night out on the town.

"The Gypsy Cafe is a great place to rendezvous after a night out," said Matthew Snell, a fourth-year political science student. "The atmosphere is relaxed and the social aspect of hookah facilitates lively conversation."