The Hookah: A Gateway Drug
I had a gig the other night in a hookah bar. For those unfamiliar with the hookah, it’s pretty much just a long pipe with water in it that you smoke flavored tobacco through. What, you say, that sounds like a bong? Yes, it does. But it’s not, ‘cause it’s tobacco silly. I’m sure Tootie from The Facts of Life would have used it to blow bubbles.
I was vaguely familiar with the hookah from an evening out with my friends JW and Edward (*sigh* Edward *sigh*). I don’t remember the particulars, but I remember thinking the whole thing was silly. I don’t think those hookahs had tobacco in them, for some reason I recall them being tea leaves. But perhaps that was my naivety showing through.
Unlike that place, this club the other night let the people smoke the hookah INSIDE. I don’t know how they get away with that, except for the fact that this place was in Riverside and maybe they just don’t care. It was near UC Riverside, so the bulk of the tookers were college age.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a 21st century gal. I’m hip to what the kids are doing these days. But I just think the hookah is a bad idea. They give kids the false impression that they aren’t really smoking tobacco. Because it isn’t as harsh as smoking tobacco, they can smoke more of it. It looks harmless, not like cigarettes, which we all know is the devil. People smoke the hookah in a party-like atmosphere where everyone shares the pipe so it’s more of a social activity.
But you can bet that sooner or later these kids are going to move from the hookah to cigarettes. I even saw some kid who looked 12 (I’m sure he was legal though) trying to light a cigar in the hookah bar. Nice!
I actually found an article that backed up my theory (or I backed up theirs, as I’m sure it was written before I even walked into that bar) Here is a quote: "Water pipes aren't convenient to use, so if somebody begins to find a water pipe and tobacco pleasurable, but they don't have a lot of time, what are they going to do? They're going to pick up cigarettes. So hookahs are, unfortunately, a potential gateway to smoking for young adults, and we certainly don't need a new gateway to tobacco use."
They even said gateway, just like me. I'm so brilliant. Maybe I’m just turning into a prude in my old age, but I have to think that allowing kids to smoke the hookahs today will lead to a lot more cigarette smokers in the future. I bet Big Tobacco Industry™ is knee-deep in this somehow. I may investigate further. Either that or I'll just go take a nap.
I was vaguely familiar with the hookah from an evening out with my friends JW and Edward (*sigh* Edward *sigh*). I don’t remember the particulars, but I remember thinking the whole thing was silly. I don’t think those hookahs had tobacco in them, for some reason I recall them being tea leaves. But perhaps that was my naivety showing through.
Unlike that place, this club the other night let the people smoke the hookah INSIDE. I don’t know how they get away with that, except for the fact that this place was in Riverside and maybe they just don’t care. It was near UC Riverside, so the bulk of the tookers were college age.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a 21st century gal. I’m hip to what the kids are doing these days. But I just think the hookah is a bad idea. They give kids the false impression that they aren’t really smoking tobacco. Because it isn’t as harsh as smoking tobacco, they can smoke more of it. It looks harmless, not like cigarettes, which we all know is the devil. People smoke the hookah in a party-like atmosphere where everyone shares the pipe so it’s more of a social activity.
But you can bet that sooner or later these kids are going to move from the hookah to cigarettes. I even saw some kid who looked 12 (I’m sure he was legal though) trying to light a cigar in the hookah bar. Nice!
I actually found an article that backed up my theory (or I backed up theirs, as I’m sure it was written before I even walked into that bar) Here is a quote: "Water pipes aren't convenient to use, so if somebody begins to find a water pipe and tobacco pleasurable, but they don't have a lot of time, what are they going to do? They're going to pick up cigarettes. So hookahs are, unfortunately, a potential gateway to smoking for young adults, and we certainly don't need a new gateway to tobacco use."
They even said gateway, just like me. I'm so brilliant. Maybe I’m just turning into a prude in my old age, but I have to think that allowing kids to smoke the hookahs today will lead to a lot more cigarette smokers in the future. I bet Big Tobacco Industry™ is knee-deep in this somehow. I may investigate further. Either that or I'll just go take a nap.
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