As many of you know, the Hookah House has recently opened in downtown Potsdam. As you walk by, you may think that it is a head shop, seeing hookahs displayed in their floor windows. Come to find out it is a public place for smoking the hookah! How bizarre? How unique? How can there be a public indoors place to smoke, and for that matter, smoke what? What is this hookah business about? Many would ask themselves, and many of which are our parents. Many of our parents, along with the older generation; do not support the smoking of the hookah… although they may not even know what a “hookah” is. Why do many of our parents and elders think of the hookah as a device only to smoke marijuana or opium? Is it from what they knew of the hookah when they were younger? Or are they completely against smoking in general? What’s the beef on the hookah among the older generation?? In this essay, I will make a small interview among parents as well as interview the store manager of the Hookah House to answer these questions.
First, in order to better understand the hookah through the eyes of all readers, I must include the hookah’s origins and history. The hookah originated from India and surrounding countries around the fifteenth century. The first hookah was made rather simply, not having the decorative glass or other materials that the hookah is made from today. A coconut shell was usually the base of the hookah with a tube attached to the shell (where the smoker would inhale).Today, the hookah is made mostly of glass and brass rather than wood. It also has pictures and designs created on the glass to emphasize the hookah’s beauty and grace. In these ancient times, the hookah was made to smoke opium and hashish, as well as “tombeik” (a kind of tobacco). As time progressed, the hookah became very popular among royalty and wealthy people. In the nineteenth century in Europe, rich women along with royalty used to smoke the hookah with their company to have a good time. Often, they “took pictures of themselves” with the hookah which showed wealth, elegance and royalty. The hookah had earned itself quite the reputation: extravagant, sophisticated, and stylish.(Hookah History, 2008).
In Turkey today, hookah smoking became very prominent in Turkey. Today, there are hundreds of hookah bars around Turkey’s streets and they are all booming with business. It is considered a delicacy to smoke the hookah in Turkey. The whole process and act of smoking the hookah in Turkey is all very delicate and passionate. The assistant in setting up smoking the hookah is “considered to be a chef“…it is an art in this country. The hookah was seen in more of an artistic, tasteful view among the people who smoked it, many of which were and are intellectuals. Because of hookah popularity among Europe and India, it was bound to make its way to the United States. Many hookah bars or lounges sprang up in the U.S. in the 1960...mainly in California.(Hookah History, 2008).This is where the hookah probably got a bad reputation among our parents. Though the hookah was used to smoke a kind of tobacco called shisha, it also was used to smoke illegal drugs such as marijuana, hashish and opium. Shisha, for those of you that don’t know what it is, is a form of tobacco made from molasses and dried fruit. Usually it comes in “a round tab form” that you put on the top of the hookah to smoke. It burns very slowly, and there are several different, enjoyable flavors to smoke as well.
People are accepting the hookah more, as some are substituting illegal drugs and nicotine with the hookah:
Cigarettes are for nervous people, competitive people, people on the run...when you smoke [the hookah], you have time to think. It teaches you patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation for good company. [Hookah] smokers have a much more balanced approach to life than cigarette smokers.” (Ismet Ertep,71 years, Turkey) (Hookah History, 2008).Today, Many have adopted this way of thinking in correspondence with the hookah. And many cases college students are smoking the hookah just looking to have a fun time with their friends.
This is one thing that parents do not understand: What is it with the hookah? Why do kids like it smoking it so much? “Well, for the enjoyment and relaxation of it.” says Mr. Furnace (being interviewed by Alex Jacobs, news 10), the co-owner of the Hookah House. “We don’t want people to think it’s a ‘bong place’, because it’s not.” says Ms. Furnace (being interviewed by Alex Jacobs, news 10), the owner of the Hookah House. And that is exactly what many parents and older folks think of the place as. To see these smoking contraptions in their display windows, parents would think the Hookah House is some devilish place that serves illegal drugs and smoking concoctions to their college students. I have seen these negative people pass by the Hookah House, as I observed from a nearby bench. Many people are obviously curious what exactly is in the lounge and what its purpose is, no matter the age of the people. Most people I had observed from the bench genuinely looked curious as they walked by…but they hid their curiosity very well. I myself was curious the first time I passed by the lounge. But there were a select few that made it obvious they were not in support of the Hookah House. One lady walking by the Hookah House with her child, peers in very slightly, but pushes on walking looking down at her child to make sure he wasn’t looking at the hookahs displayed in the floor windows. An fellow student had told me a tip that he had seen a married couple walk by the Hookah House, but only the husband looked curious. When she saw her husband peer into the lounge, she said, “ Nope!” and pushed him along down the sidewalk. Apparently many mothers and parents feel the hookah is not safe for their children whatsoever. And there are many parents that actually take their complaints and opinions to hookah users. And yet there are some parents that don’t know much about the hookah at all. The parents that I have surveyed were rather touchy on the subject when asked. “Honestly I’m not sure what a hookah is exactly. . . I do know that it’s something you smoke pot out of.” many parents, In particular mothers, answered like this mother. That is a big myth; the hookah is not used solely for marijuana and illegal drugs! It is “shisha”(a blend of fruit and tobacco) that they smoke out of hookahs. At the Hookah House, “there’s two different kinds of shisha that we have. . . No tobacco, tar or nicotine”(Mitton). Many older people are blinded by these biased opinions and let them form their unreliable opinions. Yet some parents that I had questioned knew what a hookah was or had smoked out of one before. One parent said, “ Of course I know what a hookah is, I have one just in the other room.” This just goes to show some people are open and aware, as others are closed and skeptical.
Among these skeptical people, there are some that go right into the Hookah House and straight out yell at the owners. “ The mothers…”, Norman Mitton smiles; the manager of the Hookah House, “ are our biggest opposers.” Supposedly, older folks in particular mothers, peek into the place with biased attitudes. “ All the time…I get bombarded with questions.” Mitton says. He doesn’t necessarily personally know anybody that opposes hookah smoking besides the mothers that argue with him. “ They’ll say things like ‘I can’t believe you represent this establishment…You’re representing negative ideas to the youth.’ or ‘You’re affecting the youth’” (Mitton). Many of these people however, are judging the hookah as a weed-smoking device. And that is just what they are afraid of: their kids smoking things that they shouldn’t be out of the hookah, which is completely understandable and reasonable, but such things are not allowed into the lounge whatsoever. Many of these parents would obviously not allow their college students to smoke it. “ Some college student parents test it out before they let their kids do it,” says Mitton, “Like I said, there’s an open minded crowd and there’s a closed.” In discussion, Mitton and I established the reason for the bias against hookah smoking at the Hookah House is mainly from the worried crowd that aren’t educated on the hookah and what it is used for. Since they are negative, they don’t let any new, positive information seep into their minds about the hookah…thus, they keep their opinions and full out bash the store-owners for their ways of having a goodtime. Mitton just lets them say what they have to say and move on. “ I’m not going to fight back with them and tell them they are wrong, that the hookah is awesome and stuff…they can believe what they want to believe.”(Mitton). However, not all parents and older folk are against the hookah. There is an experimental crowd, willing to try new things. You’d think there would only be college students in the Hookah House ,but there are also older groups of people that come in for the experience, up to 60 years old! It is all about the experience of smoking the Hookah, and relaxing with close friends. What’s the harm in that?
Speaking of harm, the hookah isn’t necessarily “healthy” to smoke, but it is a healthier way to smoke. “ From personal opinion, I think it’s a more healthy smoke…the stuff (shisha) we use has a tea-leaf base which are filled with anti-oxidants. So in a way, you could think the anti-oxidants would cancel out any harm of smoking the hookah.” Mitton states. Actually, this may not be entirely true, once antioxidants are burnt they are gone, so it may not be as healthy as everyone says it is. That is a main question for parents if smoking it is safe…there has not been adequate research done on hookah smokers and the affects because there has not been enough time to study the impacts it has on people, but many say it is a healthier smoke. At the Hookah House, “they have a tea-leaf base made from honey and glycerone as well as the standard shisha- made from ground whole fruits and molasses”(Mitton). It is much safer than other hookah bars who serve shisha with tobacco. The Hookah House does not allow any tobacco product or marijuana in the building whatsoever. Sometimes they get questions regarding these products in the Hookah House. “Can we sprinkle some stuff in?” Mitton laughs. He says obviously “no”,.. no marijuana is allowed and they haven’t had any problems yet. If they did sprinkle some weed on the shisha, the owners would smell it and they would take the measures they would have to take. They have not had any problems yet so I’m not sure how they would handle that situation.
The Hookah House wants others to know what they are smoking and be educated on the hookah. “ A lot of people don’t really know what a hookah is.” Darin Richards says (store co-owner) during an interview with News 10 and Now (Hagen). One of their main goals is to educate people of the town about the hookah to loosen people’s views on the hookah and the illegal drugs it is associated with. “Throughout history, hookah lounges have provided a social place where the community could come together to discuss local politics or events. And as for this Hookah House, the owners also hope it’ll become a meeting place. ‘People can walk in with dress pants and a nice shirt on, or they can walk in with shorts and a t-shirt on. So you want all groups of life to feel comfortable here,’ Richards says” (Hagen).
The Hookah House means not to stir up the public’s views on smoking, but only to provide a calm, laid back place where the public and college students can just hangout and have a good time with their friends. It’s a place where college students can study peacefully, or a group of students can discuss class projects, school and life in general. It’s a place where a group of older people can go after they went to dinner, seen a movie or gone to any event. The point is to unwind, relax and recollect the day’s events, not to raise hell and get “high”. The Hookah House will always have their opposing people, but they will also have supportive people that enjoy hookah smoking. Just like the world will have their negative and worried people as well as the open and aware people.
Works Cited
Hagen, Sara. “North Country’s first hookah lounge opens.”
news10now.com. News 10, 9 Sept. 2009
“Hookah History.” hookah company.com
Web. Nov. 3 2009.
Mitton, Norman. Personal Interview. October 9th, 2009.
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