Should Hookah Lounges Be Banned?

You knew it was too good to be true. A cool bar where you could chill out, plop some flavored tobacco into a giant bong-looking device and share a tasty smoke with your friends. It had the allure of doing something illegal with none of the repercussions.

But, like cell phones, BPA-free plastic and the sun, it turns out hookah bars just aren't that safe. For years, college kids and urban hipsters have been loading up on the Middle Eastern water pipes with an aromatic blend of tobacco, molasses and a fruit known as shisha. Now, The New York Times reports that the myth that hookah smoke is less dangerous because it is filtered through water is just that and college administrators and health advocates are focusing on the trendy device as the new front in their war on tobacco.

Lawmakers in California, Connecticut and Oregon have introduced bill that would ban or limit hookah bars and Boston and Maine have ended exemptions to their indoor-smoking laws that had allowed hookah bars to thrive. Researchers say that many young people are misled by the fruity, sweet smell of the hookah smoke, noting that the amount consumed in an hour-long session is equivalent to 100 cigarettes. Oh, and the water in the pipes only filters out about 5 percent of the nicotine, so there goes that excuse.

Then there's the fact that the tobacco in hookahs is heated by charcoal, which leads to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, not to mention the tar, heavy metals and other cancer-causing chemicals in the hookah smoke itself. But wait, there's more!

In addition to studies that have linked hookah use to many of the same diseases linked to regular smoking – lung, oral and bladder cancer, clogged arteries and heart disease – the communal nature of the sessions has also been linked to the spread of tuberculosis, herpes and other infections.

Outraged users have already started a number of Facebook groups decrying the bans, with some calling for a bar on cigarette sales first.

Do you think hookah bars are safe?