What’s hookah, and is it healthier than smoking a cigarette?
Many people think that water pipe smoking, a growing trend around the Globe, is a risk-free way to get a nicotine fix It’s a tobacco smoking style with many names: hookah, shisha, narghile, goza, and hubble-bubble, to name a few. Invented in India in the 15th century, water-pipe smoking has long been popular in the Middle East. Yet over the past decade, smoking hookah has also become trendy in the U.S., particularly on college campuses and among high school students. Today, an estimated 100 million people worldwide smoke water pipes, with many users mistakenly believing that it is a risk-free way to consume tobacco. Part of the appeal is the exotic device, which is typically ornately decorated yet has a simple design. A bowl at the top of the water pipe holds a sticky mixture of tobacco, honey, molasses, fruit pulp, and/or flavorings as diverse as mint, coconut, peach, and even cola. Crushed tobacco leaves, typically present at about 5–10% in the mixture, look like little fl...