by Tarryn Brien
Thick clouds of smoke fill the air with the sweet smell of double apple. The crackling sound of the burning coal reminds you of the fact that you are smoking and that this act cannot be good for your health. You desperately want to be part of the action. The hose of the pipe is in demand –“hogging” is a serious offence. It must make its way to every member of the group, everyone understands the etiquette. Now you finally have the pipe, take a long deep “drag”. Acrid flavour fills your lungs and you can almost taste the smell. As you exhale slowly, releasing a long white stream of air.
The hookah pipe, more commonly known as “hubbly bubbly” or “okka” is a popular trend on campus. Students are smoking in cars, around parking lots and even on open fields. The hookah has become a vital social accessory in almost every “so called” social elite clique. Wherever there is a group of people sitting casually in a circle, there is a hookah pipe in the centre. The hookah is a social glue, the most important ingredient of the clique.
Hookah smokers on campus are aspiring lawyers, scientists and even dentists. They vary in age from first years to postgraduates. They meet on their exclusive hang out spots and greet with the words “make a pipe!” Everyone is happy and glad to see that the person with the hookah has arrived. Celeste a second year B. admin student says, “I started smoking okka because of peer pressure and I enjoy it because it makes my head spin. It is also fun and relaxing.” She says that she does not spend much money on flavour as she does not own her own pipe. Most students smoke hookah because they believe it is a stress reliever. Hilton, a third year b.com law student agreed that smoking hookah is good relaxation. So how many people smoke from one pipe during a session? According to Tarieq a 21 year old, fourth year psychology student, “I have a small hookah so only three people can smoke at a time.”
The hookah originated in India in the fifteenth century. The pipe was smoked by sultans and became a status symbol of the time. Today the hookah is even more popular and many young people smoke hookah on a regular basis.
For those who don’t know, the hookah pipe consists of a single multistemmed, glass bottomed water pipe structure which is used for smoking. The pipe operates by water filtration and indirect heat. It is used to smoke flavoured tobacco among other substances which is a whole new article reserved for another time.
Many students who smoke hookah believe that it is healthier than smoking cigarettes. “It is a bit healthier than cigarettes because I’ve heard that the water filtration extracts the tar,” claims Caryn, 20, third year law student. But according to a world health organisation advisory “a typical one hour smoking session exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. Even after passing through water, tobacco smoke still contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer causing chemicals such as carcinogens.” Recent studies have found that hookah smokers actually inhale more nicotine than cigarette smokers this is because of the huge volumes of smoke they inhale.
Hookah is immensely popular on campus and the students love smoking yet they are not fully aware of the health risks. The hookah pipe is an essential social magnet and attracts all kinds of people.
I ‘lis’ for a pipe now… I think that okka is neither good nor bad, it depends on the person. Everyone needs some sort of relief. I’m glad you never took an extreme, one-sided approach to the topic.