The Modern Hookah Pop Phenomenon

You’ve probably seen them, especially if you live in a college town or a Yuppie neighborhood. Hookah lounges are appearing across America’s urban landscape, and have been for the last ten to twelve years.

These unique water pipes are the latest trend for the young urban set, the college age crowd, and the modern hip. They’re seen as safer than cigarettes, cigars, or even martinis, and they come with an exotic flair that makes them almost irresistible.

Hookahs are particularly interesting as a trend because they actually represent a partial reversal of an earlier trend: smoking generally has declined of the last 20 years, but hookah smoking is on the rise. There are several reasons for this.

One reason is the relative increase in immigration to the US of Middle Easterners. The hookah is a native of the Mid East, and in sidewalk cafes from Cairo to Haifa to Beirut to Kuwait it’s common to see groups of young men gathered around the pipe, smoking slowly and discussing the latest newspapers, or soccer matches. Hookah smoking is a social thing, and when immigrants from hookah-smoking societies arrive, they bring their social pastimes with them. Pastimes like the hookah.

Another reason for the increase in hookah smoking is the tobacco mix. Hookahs use a mix called shisha that is quite different from the Borkum Riff your dad used to pack in his pipe. Shisha actually has less tobacco in it, and is mixed with fruit, herbs, and honey, giving it a unique flavor and sweetness that accentuated by the hookah’s water filtration. The scent, savor, and flavor of the hookah are all reasons for its popularity.

Finally, because they use water filtration and a naturally low-tar tobacco mix, hookahs are seen as less dangerous than cigarettes or cigars. In fact, in some places, they are even replacing the cigar bar craze of 15 years ago. It seems that the hookah may be with us for some time.