Cigarettes and Tobacco News

Sep 30, 2006 -- Hookahs, or water pipes filled with fruity tobaccos, originated around present-day Turkey. The trend quickly spread throughout the Middle East and into North Africa, and is still very popular in the area. In fact, many of the hookahs that are found in Fort Collins today were made in Egypt.

Some have characterized hookahs much like a specter haunting the Front Range. However, some of the information about hookahs is inaccurate; myths must be dispelled, specifically in regard to the possible banning of hookahs from Colorado establishments.

According to the Smoke Free Colorado Web site, the statewide ban on smoking was enacted "to protect the health of both the public and employees by reducing their exposure to secondhand smoke." Patrons may want to visit a bar or restaurant and choose not to smoke or be affected by smoke.

In the case of hookah bars, such as Algiers, in Fort Collins, and Pita Jungle, in Denver, the ban should not be enacted. The patrons that visit these establishments go - not to enjoy the food - but to enjoy the atmosphere, which includes the smoking of hookah. Many may be distressed by the thought of younger people smoking. However, hookah smoking should not be compared to the smoking of cigarettes.

Cigarettes contain many chemicals, including benzene, formaldehyde, ammonia and acetone, some of which are found in everyday cleaning materials.

Hookahs, on the other hand, smoke shisha. Shisha is comprised of only natural ingredients, tobacco, molasses and fruit, depending on the specific flavor of shisha. The flavors range from apple to banana to passion fruit.

What needs to be understood is that many of the harmful addictive chemicals that are found in cigarettes are not found in shisha. Nevertheless, each product contains nicotine, but this, too, can be addressed.

The problem with cigarettes is the easy accessibility to them and the nicotine intake that grows with each cigarette. Over the course of a year, someone who smokes a pack and a half of cigarettes a day will consume more than 10,000 cigarettes.

However, hookahs are not easily accessible as they need a water base, hose, tin foil and holder for the shisha. Therefore, anything short of carrying the setup around in a backpack, the hookah is not something that can be smoked multiple times a day.

These businesses should not be closed for the sake of the health of people who choose to smoke. For, "There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy." - Robert Louis Stevenson