<p>Maybe I am hopelessly uncool or something, but I noticed a red cup taped over the smoke detector in a dorm, and when I asked, I was told this allowed smoking of a hooka (without setting off the fire alarm) which is like a bong for several people to share, but for tobacco, and the kids consider it somehow “cleaner” than smoking cigarettes. When I commented that kids must not care about their health, I was told this is just a way of being social…Is this common at your kids’ colleges? Why do they think it is better than cigarettes? Are they kidding that it is for tobacco but not pot?</p>
<p>it’s not tobacco haha</p>
<p>Yep, common at colleges, the kids think it’s just social. Unfortunately nicotine is hugely addictive no matter how cute and trendy the delivery device.
Flavored, cooled nicotine delivery devices make it even easier to become addicted. Studies that I have read I indicate that if a person has a pleasant experience the first time, they are more likely to try it again, and that if a person has a positive reaction three times they are hugely likely to become addicted.
Don’t feel relieved if you find out it’s “only” tobacco… Pot might be less of a long term problem.</p>
<p>I stand corrected. I don’t have any experience with college kids that use that stuff but I know highschool kids that smoke weed and refer to it as hooka, But dragonmom is right.</p>
<p>Sounds dangerous to have a cup taped over the smoke detector.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that nobody uses a hooka to smoke weed. I went to college in the 70’s. The difference is that many hipster kids now want to hang out at middle-eastern restaurants on the patio and it’s something that one can do at 18…</p>
<p>The hookah bar in our area is popular with college kids home for break. 18 year old and ups can go and share a fruit flavored hookah pipe and the 21 and ups in the group can order an alcoholic drink. I’m sure it is “hip.” I can see the appeal when half of your pals are 20 and half are 21. </p>
<p>No one is getting hooked on hookah - they only use it at the hookah bar. Of course smoking hookah is bad for you, no argument there.</p>
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<p>It’s not - because the smoke is “filtered” through the water, it makes it much smoother (less harsh) than cigarette smoke - and the fact that it’s flavored with pleasant flavors doesn’t hurt that perception either.</p>
<p>But it is just as dangerous as cigarette smoke.</p>
<p>And yes it is considered a social activity, probably because most hookas have multiple tubes so a bunch of people can be smoking at the same time in a communal setting. </p>
<p>Yes they’re common, yes those people are idiots for covering up the smoke detector, no it’s not cleaner than other types of smoke.</p>
<p>Red cup taped over the fire alarm?! Talk about potentially life threatening…</p>
<p>smoking hookah is relaxing and a fun thing to do with your friends, it doesn’t feel like anything when you inhale it so even people who have never smoked anything before can smoke it easily. It’s basically tobacco leaves soaked in honey, then heated with a charcoal. The smoke is filtered through water which makes it cool and light.</p>
<p>and it is tobacco.</p>
<p>it’s possible to smoke weed in a hookah but not practical and you need a lot of weed.</p>
<p>and a hookah usually won’t set off a fire alarm because the smoke is so thin, and if someone were to walk in after you have smoked it, it would smell like you had lit a scented candle.</p>
<p>Just don’t trust the caterpillars. Next thing you know, they’ll have you nibbling on a mushroom.</p>
<p>There are at least two hookah bars by the University of Pittsburgh and they’re very popular. You can order all kinds of flavored tobacco for your hookah (per Midwest Mom and Amigable). I’d guess that there are always some people who smoke other things in their dorm-hookahs, but hookahs aren’t always drug paraphanalia (not like bongs, but that’s another story). Some of my kids have gone to the hookah bars once or twice with friends. Interest in it blows over. It’s similar to the cigar smoking phase, which lasted a few months too.</p>
<p>Yeah, some people will put weed into their hookah or mix weed with tobacco, but it’s not the most effective way to smoke weed. At least, that’s what I heard back when I was in college in the dinosaur age of Iron Butterfly etc.</p>
<p>I would be concerned about the fire detector being covered. It’s unsafe whether it’s due to a hookah (which shouldn’t be emitting that much smoke anyway), smoke from prohibited hot plates or candles, or because someone on the floor is smoking cigarettes or weed. Somehow I doubt it’s covered because of hookah use. </p>
<p>Kids aren’t always able to visualize the consequences. I’m surprised the R.A. or the cleaning staff hasn’t reported the fire detector being covered up. I normally am a fan of butting out, but not this time. I’ve heard too many horror stories about fires over the years since I was in school. If they’re ignoring the fire detector being unsafe, I’d also worry about what else they’re ignoring.</p>
<p>No one is getting hooked on hookah - they only use it at the hookah bar."</p>
<p>Yeah, tell that to my daughter who spent her freshman summer combatting nicotine addiction.</p>
<p>Maybe they just cover the smoke detector when they’re smoking… Not such a big deal (besides the obvious).</p>
<p>And really guys, if theres a fire, theyd just pull the alarm.</p>
<p>“smoking hookah is relaxing and a fun thing to do with your friends, it doesn’t feel like anything when you inhale it so even people who have never smoked anything before can smoke it easily. It’s basically tobacco leaves soaked in honey, then heated with a charcoal. The smoke is filtered through water which makes it cool and light.”</p>
<p>Yep, cool and light is exactly what the tobacco conglomerates want you to feel. Adult, cool, light, friends,</p>
<p>I am astounded by the number of otherwise smart kids who get sucked into this addiction, don’t think that buying a tin of peppermint splash hookah is different than buying camel cigarettes. It’s the worlds most addictive drug . Fun ways of drug delivery areccarefully marketed to work on a more global market.</p>
<p>Hubert - No one can guarantee that someone will pull the fire alarm. That’s why fire detectors are required by law. I actually can speak knowledgably about this since I was in a building that was on fire once. Smoke can knock you out so quickly that you can’t get to the alarm. Dorm rooms can be closed and people sleeping, and students wouldn’t necessarily know that there was a fire on the floor. I barely had time to cross the room after realizing there was a fire before smoke inhalation knocked me out, never mind getting to a fire alarm. Fire alarms are there for a valid reason.</p>
<p>In this case the cup was taped to a high ceiling, out of reach without a ladder–so not installed temporarily, and yes, how stupid is that? Just one of several things I saw that made me wonder why everyone involved was NOT thinking!! This was at a college of supposedly brilliant students (who evidently completely lacked common sense). Anyway, parents be warned…and I thought red cups were just for beer pong…</p>
<p>In all honesty, it is very rare to either start smoking cigarettes because of hookah or to smoke hookah so much that it is an addiction-type thing. Yes there is a lot of nicotine in there (enough that if you don’t smoke often you’ll get a solid buzz) but for most people it’s not a daily activity by any means. I’m sure some people go on to smoke cigarettes, but I strongly believe that they would anyway. There are many people that smoke hookah but don’t smoke cigarettes - it’s just not a daily thing like cigarettes are, it’s something that is often only at a hookah bar. I’m compare it to smoking weed, addiction-wise. Yes some people go overboard and do it all the time, but most people just will partake on the weekends for the most part.</p>
<p>I guess a good way to put it is many people DON’T think that buying a tin of shisha (what goes in the hookah) is as bad as buying a pack of cigarettes. This is in contention due to the water filtration thing but it’s probably just as bad. However, the good part is that this doesn’t carry over - the same people aren’t going to buy a pack of cigarettes because they don’t see it as the same thing. Considering the infrequency with which the average person smokes hookah, I think it’s not completely terrible, though obviously unhealthy and not optimal.</p>
<p>roxsox:</p>
<p>With all due respect, you don’t have the first clue about nicotine addiction. Let me put it to you this way. Anyone who takes a dose of nicotine really should do so with the assumption that they are making a decision to use nicotine all day, every day, until they die. For many people that is the decision they are making, whether they know it or not.</p>
<p>I know. It took me 38 years to quit.</p>
<p>In this day and age, you have to be an absolute brain-dead, certifiable moron to ever use nicotine. Period. Might as well have STUPID tatoo’d across your forehead because there’s no other way to put it.</p>
<p>Yea, but it’s so “cool”!</p>
<p>Let’s hope it’s a passing fad - like cigars a few years back.</p>