Back in the day, hookah bars were a popular alternative for underage thrill-seekers—wooing young crowds with sultry design schemes and the opportunity to do something that wasn't illegal but still seemed illicit. Oh, and old Middle Eastern guys did it all the time, too. But as the Gray Lady just learned, apparently hookahs aren't so good for your insides, and lawmakers aren't pleased.
According to the article, many young adults are "misled by the sweet, aromatic and fruity quality of hookah smoke;" the amount of smoke inhaled an hour-long hookah session can equals out to that of 100 cigarettes, according to a study from the World Health Organization, which also found that the water in hookahs filters out less than 5 percent of the nicotine, and that the smoke contains tar. So much for the old "safer than cigarettes" excuse! But the kids aren't having it: “Considering I don’t do it that often, once a month if that, I’m not really concerned with the health effects,” said one frat boy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Paul Billings, vice president of the American Lung Association, called recent anti-hookah legislation (yes, right here in Brooklyn!) a “top priority," but a quick Facebook group search implies that public opinion isn't so keen to lay down the pipe: "Hookah bars rock, fuck the new smoking ban," "STOP THE HOOKAH BAN IN NYC," and "Hands Off My Hookah" read some of the pages. And Hookah-Bars.com, with the trademark "It's flavorlicious," has a fairly extensive rundown of the city's hookah bars.
