If you are a parent of a teenager and you’ve never heard of hookah, you need to start educating yourself on the topic. Hookah is an ancient method of smoking that has been catching on in the US, and teenagers have been quick to pick up on this new trend. Although cigarette smoking has declined due to education about the many health risks and more stringent laws regarding usage, hookah smoking is on the rise.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, “In 2010, the Monitoring the Future survey found that among high school seniors in the United States, about one in five boys (17 percent) and one in six girls (15 percent) had used a hookah in the past year.”
Unfortunately, there is a prevailing misconception that hookah smoking is a fairly safe alternative to cigarette smoking. But make no mistake, hookah smoking is detrimental to your teen’s health. Therefore, it’s imperative that parents learn the truth about hookahs and start talking to their kids about the dangers.
Why hookah?
Hookah smoking was commonplace in ancient Persia and India. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of hookah use around the world, and it is becoming particularly popular among high school and college students.
Hookahs (or water pipes) are used to smoke specially made tobacco that comes in different flavors (e.g. apple and cherry). Hookah smoking is typically done in groups, with the same mouthpiece passed from person to person.
Dr. Brian A. Primack, associate professor of medicine, pediatrics, and clinical translation science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, explains that the hookah has caught on due to its aesthetically pleasing tastes and environments.
“Hookah smoking is commonly done in ‘hookah lounges,’ which are often dimly lit and beautifully decorated.” He points out that hookah tobacco is flavored, sweetened, and cooled by the water, making it more palatable than cigarette-smoking.
Dr. Erin L. Sutfin, a developmental psychologist and assistant professor in the department of Social Sciences and Health Policy at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, agrees with Dr. Primack.
“It is well documented that teens are attracted to flavored tobacco products and use them at much higher rates than adults,” she says.
The risks
“We do have data that show hookah smokers are heavily exposed to hazardous toxins,” explains Primack who claims that one hookah-smoking session, which lasts about 45 to 60 minutes, exposes the user to about 100 times the smoke volume of a single cigarette.
Dr. Dyan Hes, medical director of Gramercy Pediatrics in Manhattan and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, describes, “There are as much or more carcinogens in hookah smoke, particularly since the tobacco is burned at a higher temperature than in a cigarette.”
Safe hookah products?
Some products boast that they are tobacco-free, hence, safe.
But Sutfin informs, “Smoking herbal shisha (a non-tobacco alternative) is still dangerous. Although there is not the risk of addiction since there is no nicotine, there is still exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide and other toxins.”
Primack reports that hookah smokers have landed in emergency rooms with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Besides carbon monoxide, the charcoal used to heat the products produces smoke containing metals and cancer-causing chemicals.
The law
Laws have not caught up with this new trend. Although many states have enacted bans on smoking in enclosed public places (e.g. New York’s Clean Indoor Air Act), hookah lounges may be excluded from these laws, because they claim to qualify for exemptions offered to cigar bars, retail tobacco shops, and establishments that sell non-tobacco smoking products.
It’s simple: parents need to talk with their teens about hookahs.
“Parents should show their teens the statistics of the carcinogens found in hookah smoke,” urges Hes.
Tips and tales
Tips are provided by Dr. Alexander V. Prokhorov, professor of behavioral science at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center:
• Do not use tobacco products yourself. Kids model their behaviors and lifestyle after their parents.
• Create a tobacco-free policy in your household.
• Hookah generates a very large amount of smoke that contains toxic chemicals, just like the smoke from cigarettes and other combusted forms of tobacco.
• If you learn that your teen uses tobacco, show that you are disheartened by your teen’s tobacco use. If you have a story about your relatives or friends who suffered or died from tobacco-related diseases, tell your teen this story.
• Refer your child to reputable resources that help young people adopt tobacco-free lifestyles. One such program is A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience, ASPIRE, www.mdanderson.org/aspire. Free apps are available (e.g. the Tobacco Free Teens app developed by experts at MD Anderson).
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Myrna Beth Haskell is a feature writer, columnist and author of “Lions And Tigers And Teens: Expert Advice and Support for the Conscientious Parent Just Like You” (Unlimited Publishing LLC, 2012).
