Getting sucked into the hookah scene

While the IU bar scene is adjusting to the newly imposed cigarette smoking ban, there is a new kind of puffing quickly gaining popularity with local students. Smoking hookah (or nargile, pronounced nar-gee-la) is a centuries-old tradition that began in Turkey and has roots across the Middle East. But do not associate hookah with cigarettes or marijuana smoking, for avid hookah smokers will be quick to call attention to the uniqueness of the growing hookah culture among college students.\nSmoking hookah begins with having the right apparatus. A hookah is essentially a 2- to 3-foot-high device that filters smoke through water as a smoker takes a pull on one of the device's hoses. At the top of the hookah is a small basin that holds flavored tobacco.\nThe sticky tobacco is soaked in molasses and blended with natural fruit flavoring. The tobacco is available in a wide range of flavors including mint, mixed fruit, peach, cappuccino and cola. Once packed into the top of the hookah, the tobacco is heated from above by a small piece of coal sitting on a perforated piece of foil. As smokers draw on the hoses, the hookah fills with a thick white smoke, and the fun has begun.\nThe appeal of hookah for most people is the social atmosphere it provides. Sitting around a hookah and sharing a smoke with friends is a great way to relax and get to know people.\n"I think the best part of hookah are the quality conversations that get started while smoking," senior Chris Rosen said. "When you sit down with your friends to smoke the hookah, you always seem to find something interesting, like the evils of the world and how to make life better."\nHookah also has become popular as an accompaniment to many students' weekend social activities.\n"I found that the hookah provides for setting up a great pre- and post-party experience," senior Riley Alexander said. "Most people I know that smoke hookah don't even smoke cigarettes. And hookah is a much more acceptable smoke than a cigar."\n"Having hookahs is just another great way to meet girls and socialize even without needing to have a lot of alcohol," Alexander said.\nAlthough people may experience a slight "buzz" from the activity, part of the appeal of hookah is that it offers a very social but relatively sober experience.\n"I think most people have the misconception that people smoke weed out of a hookah, which is untrue, and that if people took the time to learn about it from people who know, they would find this to be false," Rosen said.\nIn Bloomington, one of the largest inventories of hookah supplies can be found at the Tenth Street Market at 1809 E. 10th St. In the last year, the store has reported an increase in the sale of hookahs, indicating the trend's substantial growth among IU students. \n"This year we have sold a lot," said Ali Akhras, Tenth Street Market Manager. "I was surprised the way they sold. People tell each other, and they keep coming back."\nAkhras said he feels one of the main reasons the sales of their hookahs have increased is because unlike other cities, Bloomington does not have a hookah bar where students can go and pay to smoke hookah -- however, its Big Ten neighbor Purdue has entered the hookah bar market. Bloomington students visiting their Boilermaker friends can sit for a smoke at Café Hookah. As a result of the trend, students are purchasing their own hookahs for home use.\nAkras said hookahs sell for $30 to $80 dollars, and the store sells a lot of supplies and spare parts. \nAkhras also said the Tenth Street Market has attempted to keep its prices low to make hookahs affordable to students. The strategy seems to be working well, as students who purchase hookahs seem to return often to stock up on new flavors of tobacco, Akhras said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ron Neroda at rneroda@indiana.edu.