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Viewpoint: Hookahs worse than cigarettes

When smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in our society, how can the Pensacola News Journal advertise, publicize and romanticize it in its "Hot for Hookah" story? In a full front-page story in the Life section, tobacco use is depicted as a trendy, sexy, traditional and even cultural experience ... "billowy clouds of fragrant smoke" ... flavors such as "Sex on the Beach." Please, let's recognize this trendy, yet traditional "new smoking alternative" for what it really is: a gateway to tobacco addiction. The article describes the hookah lounge as an alternative to smoking. There are many alternatives to smoking, however, not a single one is considered safe. There is NO safe tobacco. And because hookah or water pipe use involves a greater exposure to nicotine than cigarette smoking, the likelihood of regular hookah smokers to become addicted is higher. Thus, spawning a new generation of cigarette smokers. According to the ABC News report by Dr. John Spangler, water pipe smoking is by no means safe. Use of this product exposes the smoker to twice the amount of poisonous gas — carbon monoxide — and three times the amount of nicotine compared with one cigarette. He describes the hookah as "a cigarette on steroids." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the length of hookah smoking sessions combined with the depth of inhalation expose smokers to 100 to 200 times the volume of a single cigarette. Moreover, hookah smokers can develop the same diseases as cigarette smokers, including heart disease and cancers of the mouth, lung and bladder. With the passing of Amendment 4 several years ago, 15 percent of Florida Tobacco Settlement monies have been designated to youth education and prevention. It is discouraging to read the promotion of flavored tobacco designed to appeal to new smokers. Florida is currently funding a new campaign against tobacco called Sweet Deceptions. The News Journal could better spend its time covering the benefits of this campaign rather than promoting continued use of any tobacco products. We encourage readers not to buy into the hype of flavored tobaccos and trendy new ways of smoking. Hookah bars are just another way for Big Tobacco to rob you of your money, your health and your quality of life. Sheila Kirchharr and Jennifer Morris are smoking cessation counselors for Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola.