Viewpoint: Hookahs worse than cigarettes

Tag : quality cigarettes


In a full front-page story in the Life section, tobacco use isdepicted as a trendy, sexy, traditional and even culturalexperience ... "billowy clouds of fragrant smoke" ... flavors suchas "Sex on the Beach." Please, let's recognize this trendy, yet traditional "new smokingalternative" for what it really is: a gateway to tobacco addiction.

The article describes the hookah lounge as an alternative tosmoking. There are many alternatives to smoking, however, not asingle one is considered safe.

There is NO safe tobacco. And because hookah or water pipe useinvolves a greater exposure to nicotine than cigarette smoking, thelikelihood of regular hookah smokers to become addicted is higher.Thus, spawning a new generation of cigarette smokers. According to the ABC News report by Dr. John Spangler, water pipesmoking is by no means safe. Use of this product exposes the smokerto twice the amount of poisonous gas carbon monoxide and threetimes the amount of nicotine compared with one cigarette. Hedescribes the hookah as "a cigarette on steroids." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, thelength of hookah smoking sessions combined with the depth ofinhalation expose smokers to 100 to 200 times the volume of asingle cigarette. Moreover, hookah smokers can develop the samediseases as cigarette smokers, including heart disease and cancersof the mouth, lung and bladder.

With the passing of Amendment 4 several years ago, 15 percent ofFlorida Tobacco Settlement monies have been designated to youtheducation and prevention. It is discouraging to read the promotionof flavored tobacco designed to appeal to new smokers. Florida is currently funding a new campaign against tobacco calledSweet Deceptions. The News Journal could better spend its timecovering the benefits of this campaign rather than promotingcontinued use of any tobacco products.

We encourage readers not to buy into the hype of flavored tobaccosand trendy new ways of smoking. Hookah bars are just another wayfor Big Tobacco to rob you of your money, your health and yourquality of life. Sheila Kirchharr and Jennifer Morris are smoking cessationcounselors for Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola.