Experts say hookahs are as addictive as cigarettes

If you have an older teenager, you know the seemingly endless list of things they say that are not quite true.

"Everyone's going!"

"The test is going to be easy, I don't have to study."

"I'll be home early, I promise!"

But there may be one you didn't know wasn't true: "Hookahs are harmless."

As more hookah establishments open in our area -- there are one or two in and bordering Naperville and more opening nearby -- it's worth it for parents to do a little research before their older teens spend time hanging out in what are referred to as hookah bars, hookah lounges or hookah cafes.

On the face, they sound like a safe place for teens to congregate. They generally offer food and non-alcoholic drinks, sometimes amusements like video games. But the main attraction is the hookah, the centuries-old Middle Eastern water pipe used to smoke flavored tobacco.

Owners of the establishments will tell you -- and your teens -- this tobacco is safe, not addictive. They claim it has something to do with the way it is filtered by the water.

Don't believe it -- and don't let your teens and twentysomethings be fooled. They are the group most vulnerable to the ancient water pipe's allure.

Information is found easily enough on trusted Web sites like those of the American Cancer Society and Mayo Clinic, or from your own doctor.

Here's an example from MayoClinic.com:

"Although many believe that the water in the hookah filters out all the 'bad stuff' in the tobacco smoke, this isn't true. According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) advisory, a typical one-hour session of hookah smoking exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette.

"Even after passing through the water, the tobacco smoke produced still contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens). Hookah smoking also delivers significant levels of nicotine -- the very addictive substance in tobacco.

"The trend of hookah smoking has doctors and public health experts concerned because -- despite the claim of many users -- smoking from a hookah is just as dangerous as smoking a cigarette."

Or more so, when you consider the dangers of starting something one assumes to be safe, then finding you are addicted.

The scenario is reminiscent of many years ago when countless teens got hooked on the cool-looking cigarettes and couldn't quit -- even after learning their habit was life-threatening.

Today, everyone knows the dangers when starting to smoke cigarettes. But the dangers of trying a water-pipe are being misrepresented.

As with anything anyone sells you, don't take the word of the salesperson. Do your own research and ask a trusted medical professional whether smoking a hookah is safe or addictive.

Naperville's Edward Hospital recently put a report from the World Health Organization on its health library Web site (edward.org and click on "About your health") titled, "Hookahs no safe alternative to Cigarettes: WHO."

"Contrary to ancient lore and popular belief, the smoke that emerges from a water pipe contains numerous toxicants known to cause lung cancer, heart disease and other diseases."

The Associated Press account of the WHO findings also noted that secondhand smoke from hookahs seems to pose the same health risks as secondhand smoke from cigarettes.

Isn't it ironic that hookahs are rising in popularity just as the state of Illinois has banned indoor smoking because of the health risks of secondhand smoke?

Just don't let history repeat itself. Lift the smokescreen and help spread the news -- hookahs are just the same old cigarette wolf in tempting, trendy sheep's clothing.