Younger San Franciscans praise hookah

Hookah (also known as Nargile or Shisha) is a single or multi-hosed water-pipe for smoking fruit-flavored tobacco. Originating from India became an immensely popular trend within recent years, especially among young people.

Throughout the city of San Francisco and across the country in general, hookah lounges have emerged to be hugely popular among students who want relax, but are too young to attend bars. Initially the places were famous only among Middle Easterners who found themselves at home in those venues, however, in the last couple of years the tendency spread to other young people seeking to indulge in a cozy place with friends.

Hookah venues across the Bay Area are commonly located across the university campuses like Stanford, however, numerous lounges can be found across San Francisco. University graduates and blue-collar workers enjoy the hookah too, so the trend is becoming a sort of Hysteria.

The hookah bars are frequently equaled to cigar clubs and tobacco stores, what permits them to get around the statewide indoor smoking ban, implemented more than 10 years ago, in 1998. The majority of Californian cities ban meals in such venues as well as alcohol. However, the nonalcoholic drinks are permitted unless they don’t account for a big part of revenues, in conformity with the reports carried out by San Francisco Attorney General’s office.

When puffing, smokers usually sit around the table and pass each other a tall hose with a removable tip, connected to a water-pipe. On the top of the pipe there is a bowl where the tobacco is put and covered with foil. Then the burning hot charcoals are put over the foil in order to burn tobacco. The smoke is not very hot due to the water contained in the bottom of the pipe. This leads to a smooth inhaling and a great aftertaste is provided by fruit flavorings of tobacco, such as cherry, apple, chocolate, grapes and hundreds of other flavors. A session that lasts up to 45 minutes costs $10-20 what makes hookah the most inexpensive and enjoyable group activity.

However, as well as other tobacco products, junk food and alcohol, hookah affects health severely. Although hookah lounge owners state that tobacco for hookah has less nicotine and tar than common cigarettes and water purifies the smoke retaining the toxic substances, many health organizations like the American Cancer Society's claim that water can not clean the smoke, and hookah smoking, in fact, is much more hazardous than cigarette smoking, because of the higher levels of carbon monoxide and nicotine that are three times higher than in other tobacco products.
In addition, the American Cancer Society says that besides the severe health risks traditionally related to smoking, like lung and oral cancer and emphysema, the hookah-lover can get tuberculosis, herpes and other infections from sharing the same pipe.