Hana Halawi enjoys smoking hookah regularly.

Is smoking hookah worth risking your life? Hookah is an oriental tobacco pipe with a long, flexible tube that draws the smoke through water contained in a bowl. Many people smoke hookah to release stress and relax with their friends and families. You might think that it’s not harmful, but what you might not know is that it’s worse than smoking a cigarette.

Hookah tobacco causes many illnesses.

Smoking hookah can cause many problems. These problems come from the ingredients in the hookah itself. These ingredients may include lead, chromium, cobalt, arsenic, and nicotine.

These ingredients cause lung cancer, respiratory illnesses, stomach cancer, reduced lung function, cancer in the esophagus, clogged arteries, and heart disease. Tobacco juice from hookahs can irritate peoples’ mouths. Smoke from hookahs can contain high levels of toxic compounds such as tar and metals.

Various hookah pipes

Jenan Barakat, an 8th grade student at Unis, says, “I get really worried for my friends and family and the people they smoke around me because it can effect the people around the smokers as well.” According to tobaccoinduceddiseases.com, 58% of hookah smokers believe that smoking hookahs are safe, while 31% know that smoking hookah is dangerous but still choose to smoke it. The reason why most smokers believe that smoking hookah is safe is because the hookahs have flavors like chocolate, mint, cherry, watermelon, and many more flavors that people enjoy.

Smoker Khaled Halawi says “Don’t worry about me.”

A usual hookah smoking session is about an hour, but some smokers smoke longer. Hana Halawi is one of them. She says, “Smoking hookah is a stress-releaser for me. It takes my mind off everything that bothers me.” Hana smokes hookah for many hours every day non-stop.

Although hookahs have the potential to kill, many people still think it’s worth the risk.  The addiction is still strong.

Joelle Bachrouche

Unis Middle School Journalism