This article has been edited to reflect a correction: An earlier version of this article stated that hookahs had been banned on the University of Maryland’s campus for several years. That ban, in fact, occured at Goucher College. The University of Maryland has no such ban.
Smoke rises into the air and fills the room, but the college kids crowding the floor have not come to join a rave or get drunk. They have come to smoke hookah.
Also known as the nargilah or water pipe, hookahs have become popular and controversial among students. Originating in the Middle East and now spread across the world, more and more hookahs have—in recent years—been making their way onto college campuses.
Although students inhale tobacco smoke while using the hookah, it has not acquired the stigma associated with cigarettes nor is it illegal like marijuana. So though several universities have cracked down on hookah use in recent years, many have continued to allow it on their campuses.
Hookahs can be especially appealing in the context of a hookah bar, where students can sit with their friends, schmooze, eat falafel and hummus, sip on Turkish coffee and smoke from an assortment of flavors in a dimly-lighted room. In contrast to the tobacco in cigarettes, hookah flavors range from sour apple to lemon and mint.
“It’s a social thing for me,” said Jessica Jordan, a junior at the University of Florida (UF). “I like the company and feeling of camaraderie as we sit around a table and pass it around.”
After a few puffs from the hookah, the flavored tobacco can take a smoker into a lackadaisical state of consciousness.
“I find it very relaxing,” said Tova Blasberg, a college freshman who traveled to Israel for nine months this past summer.
Some university organizations have tried to capitalize on the trend and have included hookah-themed events in their schedules. The UF Hillel offered “Hookah in the Sukkah” and “Hookah and Bonfire” programs last semester. Stanford University’s Jewish Student Association (JSA) and AEPi also organize “Hookah in the Sukkah” every year.
“‘Hookah in the Sukkah’ is a really great event to hold because it gives people the jist of coming and dwelling together, which is the purpose of a sukkah,” said Joe Gettinger, president of Stanford’s JSA.
But Hillel posted warning signs at previous “Hookah in the Sukkah” events at Stanford to caution participants regarding the health problems associated with the hookah and some students see the health risk as reason enough to stray away from smoking, no matter the context.
“I don’t smoke hookah,” said Daniela Abratt, a freshman at UF. “I think because it has become a social norm, people tend to forget or ignore the fact that they are inhaling a harsh drug.”
In 2006, the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program reported that a hookah session of 45 minutes to an hour would expose smokers to “approximately the same amount of tar and nicotine as one pack of cigarettes.” But some hookah smokers brush aside the health risks, saying that they smoke hookah infrequently and for social purposes only.
“I don’t find it addictive, but just something nice to try with friends every once in a while. I would never smoke my hookah by myself,” said Blasberg, the freshman who traveled to Israel.
Some universities have responded to the detrimental effect of hookahs by outlawing them on campus. Goucher College has been hookah-free since 2007. But such bans would have little effect on some campuses, where most of the smoking occurs outside of the administration’s reach.
“I don’t think people would be too upset,” said Sammy Boada, a sophomore at the University of Central Florida, regarding a possible ban. “There are hookah bars right near campus and people do it in off-campus apartments.”
Meanwhile, some Hillels have tried to minimize responsibility for hookah use by disassociating themselves from student-run events. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Hillel offers hookah-related programs a couple of times a year but does not use its resources to publicize them.
Regardless of the health risk, Gettinger—the Stanford JSA president—said that hookah-based events are valuable because they draw a new crowd to Jewish campus life. “I don’t feel it increases, but it changes the turnout of people,” said Gettinger. “The last thing we want at our events is to limit our ability to connect to all of the Jewish population on campus.”
One social utility the hookah may have could be to act as a bridge between Jewish and Arab populations on campus. Hookahs are popular in both Israel and the Arab world. But some students do not see the hookah bar as the next setting for a major international relations breakthrough.
“I could see it being a setting that could provide a laid back situation for Jews and Arabs to socialize, but I don’t think it will facilitate [discussion] any more than kicking around a soccer ball will,” said Jordan, the UF junior. “Both parties have to want it. We already have plenty in common if we choose to take advantage of it.”
