Leanne Bazzetta exhales after smoking from a hookah at Sigara.
(Credit: Stacie Freudenberg photo for RedEye)
Young Kim of Schaumburg said she's never smoked cigarettes, and she seemed a little timid when it was her turn to take a hit from the hookah at Sigara Hookah Cafe & Lounge on a recent Wednesday night.
Kim grabbed the multicolor hose and inhaled the strawberry- and banana-flavored smoke as she and three friends sat on pillows in the dimly lit Ukrainian Village hookah lounge.
She described her first hookah experience as "dizzy and strong."
"Does it have nicotine in it?" asked Kim, 27.
Kim and other hookah users interviewed by RedEye were hazy on the ingredients and potential health effects of hookah smoking.
A hookah user can inhale as much smoke during one waterpipe session as a cigarette smoker would inhale from 100 cigarettes, a 2005 report from the World Health Organization said. And smoking from a hookah can lead to nicotine addiction and cancer, according to various health groups.
Hookah smoking recently has become a big trend in Chicago, but many lounges that serve liquor or food will be forced to extinguish their hookah services on Jan. 1 when the state smoking ban goes into effect.
Several of these hotspots began offering hookah services in the last few years as a way for patrons to relax and socialize. The city does not keep track of how many hookah bars are in the city, but Shiraz Umar, who runs hookahchicago.com, said at least 10 to 12 hookah bars have opened in the last year. Illinois has one of the highest concentrations of hookah bars in the country, according to Web sites that track hookah lounges.
Long popular in Middle-Eastern culture, the hookah is a waterpipe device used to smoke shisha—a tobacco often mixed with fruit and soaked in molasses. The shisha smoke is sucked through a long hose with a mouthpiece. Puffers told RedEye they prefer the flavor of the hookah smoke to cigarette tobacco.
But hookah toking is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking, said Stacy Ignoffo, senior director of programs and professional services for the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.
"Hookah smoke still includes carbon monoxide and the carcinogens found in cigarette smoke," Ignoffo said. "It still causes many cancers ... as well as heart disease, lung disease and nicotine addiction."
Though research is ongoing on the effects of hookah smoking, several health groups have determined the health risk of hookahs is greater than that of cigarettes. One reason, according to a February report from the American Lung Association, is that hookah sessions often last 40 to 45 minutes while cigarette smoking runs from five to 10 minutes. "It's certainly dangerous," said Carol Southard, a smoking cessation specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "It's a way to get young people hooked ... into using cigarettes."
The 2005 report by the World Health Organization found that during a one-hour hookah session, a hookah user may inhale 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled in a single cigarette. But hookah users may not smoke as often as cigarette smokers would.
The health organization also found the heat sources, such as charcoal or wood cinders used in burning the tobacco, produce their own toxins, including high levels of carbon monoxide, metals and carcinogens. Hookah users who share a mouthpiece also risk contagious diseases, according to the report.
The potential health risks came as a surprise to most of the hookah users RedEye interviewed.
"That's crazy," said Joanne Yum, 27, of Ravenswood Manor. "I haven't done the research."
Yum said she has indulged in hookah three or four times since she started smoking the herbs and fruits six months ago. Yum said she enjoys the flavor of the tobacco and the social aspect of sitting with her friends and passing the pipe at a cafe.
But Yum said her secret to avoiding hookah health hazards is that she doesn't inhale the smoke because she has weak lungs from allergies.
Ignoffo said that even if hookah users like Yum don't inhale, they still are exposed to carcinogens, which can lead to lung disease through secondhand smoke.
The potential for secondhand smoke is the main reason hookahs were included—with few exceptions—in the statewide smoking ban the Illinois General Assembly approved earlier this year.
"The same problem exists [as with cigarette smoke]," said State Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago), who sponsored the smoking ban legislation. "Smoke gets in the air and it gets into the lungs of people who are not smokers."
Many hookah smokers said they will not let the smoking ban snuff out their hobby.
An occasional cigarette smoker, Meredith Callan of Lakeview said she enjoys hookah smoking because it's exotic. "It's more social than smoking a cigarette," said Callan, 33, who recently inhaled melon- and rum-flavored hookah smoke with friends at Sigara. Callan said she got hooked on hookah three years ago at a bar in London.
Callan said she didn't know which chemicals are part of hookah tobacco, but she assumed the smoke couldn't be good for the body.
"I had an idea it was probably more potent," Callan said.
Despite the dangers, Rory Gallagher of Andersonville said he still will partake in hookah revelry with his friends.
tswartz@tribune.com
Kim grabbed the multicolor hose and inhaled the strawberry- and banana-flavored smoke as she and three friends sat on pillows in the dimly lit Ukrainian Village hookah lounge.
She described her first hookah experience as "dizzy and strong."
"Does it have nicotine in it?" asked Kim, 27.
Kim and other hookah users interviewed by RedEye were hazy on the ingredients and potential health effects of hookah smoking.
A hookah user can inhale as much smoke during one waterpipe session as a cigarette smoker would inhale from 100 cigarettes, a 2005 report from the World Health Organization said. And smoking from a hookah can lead to nicotine addiction and cancer, according to various health groups.
Hookah smoking recently has become a big trend in Chicago, but many lounges that serve liquor or food will be forced to extinguish their hookah services on Jan. 1 when the state smoking ban goes into effect.
Several of these hotspots began offering hookah services in the last few years as a way for patrons to relax and socialize. The city does not keep track of how many hookah bars are in the city, but Shiraz Umar, who runs hookahchicago.com, said at least 10 to 12 hookah bars have opened in the last year. Illinois has one of the highest concentrations of hookah bars in the country, according to Web sites that track hookah lounges.
Long popular in Middle-Eastern culture, the hookah is a waterpipe device used to smoke shisha—a tobacco often mixed with fruit and soaked in molasses. The shisha smoke is sucked through a long hose with a mouthpiece. Puffers told RedEye they prefer the flavor of the hookah smoke to cigarette tobacco.
But hookah toking is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking, said Stacy Ignoffo, senior director of programs and professional services for the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.
"Hookah smoke still includes carbon monoxide and the carcinogens found in cigarette smoke," Ignoffo said. "It still causes many cancers ... as well as heart disease, lung disease and nicotine addiction."
Though research is ongoing on the effects of hookah smoking, several health groups have determined the health risk of hookahs is greater than that of cigarettes. One reason, according to a February report from the American Lung Association, is that hookah sessions often last 40 to 45 minutes while cigarette smoking runs from five to 10 minutes. "It's certainly dangerous," said Carol Southard, a smoking cessation specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "It's a way to get young people hooked ... into using cigarettes."
The 2005 report by the World Health Organization found that during a one-hour hookah session, a hookah user may inhale 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled in a single cigarette. But hookah users may not smoke as often as cigarette smokers would.
The health organization also found the heat sources, such as charcoal or wood cinders used in burning the tobacco, produce their own toxins, including high levels of carbon monoxide, metals and carcinogens. Hookah users who share a mouthpiece also risk contagious diseases, according to the report.
The potential health risks came as a surprise to most of the hookah users RedEye interviewed.
"That's crazy," said Joanne Yum, 27, of Ravenswood Manor. "I haven't done the research."
Yum said she has indulged in hookah three or four times since she started smoking the herbs and fruits six months ago. Yum said she enjoys the flavor of the tobacco and the social aspect of sitting with her friends and passing the pipe at a cafe.
But Yum said her secret to avoiding hookah health hazards is that she doesn't inhale the smoke because she has weak lungs from allergies.
Ignoffo said that even if hookah users like Yum don't inhale, they still are exposed to carcinogens, which can lead to lung disease through secondhand smoke.
The potential for secondhand smoke is the main reason hookahs were included—with few exceptions—in the statewide smoking ban the Illinois General Assembly approved earlier this year.
"The same problem exists [as with cigarette smoke]," said State Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago), who sponsored the smoking ban legislation. "Smoke gets in the air and it gets into the lungs of people who are not smokers."
Many hookah smokers said they will not let the smoking ban snuff out their hobby.
An occasional cigarette smoker, Meredith Callan of Lakeview said she enjoys hookah smoking because it's exotic. "It's more social than smoking a cigarette," said Callan, 33, who recently inhaled melon- and rum-flavored hookah smoke with friends at Sigara. Callan said she got hooked on hookah three years ago at a bar in London.
Callan said she didn't know which chemicals are part of hookah tobacco, but she assumed the smoke couldn't be good for the body.
"I had an idea it was probably more potent," Callan said.
Despite the dangers, Rory Gallagher of Andersonville said he still will partake in hookah revelry with his friends.
tswartz@tribune.com
