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The habit of puffing using a hookah or a water pipe was originated in the Middle East many centuries, but it became hugely popular in the United States long with other countries within last several years. The hookahs are especially famous among teenagers. And this fact concerns scientists who think that people have been misled by the allegations that hookah smoking is healthier than cigarettes.

Entering the Arabic Paradise Lounge one can see that despite the recession, the venue is filled with customers, mainly younger adults, almost all of them sipping their beverages, chatting and dragging on their hookahs, which produce fruit-smelling vapor. "It makes me feel relaxed and forget about all the difficulties and helps me communicate with my friends," said Chad Williams, a hookah lover.

The owner of Arabic Paradise Lounge, Steven Morrison confessed that his business is on a huge rise after they added hookah in the menu, adding that the lounge is packed with patrons every day, and most of them order hookah and tea or coffee.

Using the Arabic water pipe is not very difficult. The flavored tobacco is placed into a small tube at the end by the pipe and then heated by the coals put over the tube. On the other end of the pipe, there is a bowl with water. And it is connected with a hose, that smoker uses to inhale the pipe.

Steven Morrison said that they offer almost 60 tobacco flavors for the hookah and try to add a new flavor from time to time by blending several flavors. And namely these tasty flavors attracted so many people, including adolescents into smoking hookah, as scientists said. Although persons under 18 years old are not allowed to the lounge, the hookah trend is especially popular among teens.

Larry Holloway, 21, confessed that all his friends are fond of hookah, because it is not about addiction, but all about communication. He said that smoking the water pipe became a social tendency since it unites people, keeping them away from dangerous habits like gambling or excessive drinking or drugs.

However, the enormous popularity of smoking water pipes is a huge problem for anti-smoking advocates.

Audrey Brown, chairman of Tobacco-Free Kids Virginia stated that public health officials are partially liable for the hookah among teens, because their relentless efforts on convincing young people that cigarettes are toxic for consumption, and thus, people switched to water pipe, assuming that it is healthier than cigarettes. And the latter assumption is completely wrong.

In fact, according to the latest studies, tobacco used hookah contains the same additives and harmful substances as in other tobacco products which have been blamed for health complications.

Dr. Helga Slazenger, leading researcher at American Cancer Society revealed that the tests showed that a session of smoking hookah has been identical to smoking 100 ordinary cigarettes, since a cigarette is smoked in 9 puffs while a hookah may be puffed for almost an hour with 50 puffs and even more. Thus, it shows that water pipes are even more hazardous than cigarettes.

Dr. Slazenger believes that hookah is just a new type of tobacco, which is smoked on the same basis like other tobacco items.