By: Jemma Wood

“Just try it! It’s not dangerous, I swear! It’s just water vapor…and it tastes like pina colada!”

Hookah pens; a growing trend amongst kids and teens. Fairly easy to get, easy to use, and simple to hide, these alternatives to the traditional cigarette are being smoked, sold, and enjoyed all throughout the world, spreading their effects to their users throughout their invasion.

These portable little devices are disguised as normal, everyday, writing pens and are just about the same size too; this feature makes them easily hidden and easy to carry. They hide in backpacks or purses and aren’t very suspicious upon first glimpse, but their colourful appearance and a rainbow of available flavors make these “pens” a magnet for children and teens for many different, unique reasons.  But what they don’t know is the Hookah Pens are hiding a secret under their sweet smoke?

Many teens, not just in California, have taken to this new form of smoking.

They are similar to E-Cigarettes, but not quite the same.

E-Cigarettes contain nicotine and do not come in the variety of flavors that Hookah’s do. Hookahs do not look like traditional cigarettes (small clyinder shaped sticks.  About ⅔ of the cigarette is white, the rest is orange) ,but are seen as an influential device to get people, mainly young people, used to smoking.

Because hookah’s vaporize water, they do not apply to non-smoking area’s that cigarettes are banned from. With their rainbow of flavors and colours , Hookah pens attract teenagers and young children like bees to honey.

While the Hookah Pens were originally intended for cigarette quitters to get a little bit of nicotine each session, children and teenagers have taken to the pens much quicker. This is, however, not a problem for smoking companies, as kids are young, daring and still learning; making them the perfect groups to target. Teenagers are young, energized,  risk-takers, and don’t always make the right decisions. Some decisions are made too soon, too quickly, based on peer pressure, emotions, or simply some personal problems that need to be escaped. Either way, many teens pick up smoking too early and cause deadly harm to themselves as they continue.

Many teenagers don’t find too much trouble in getting alcohol, tobacco, or whatever illegal substance they’re craving to get their hands on. Teenagers know others who may be older than them and are able to buy a substance not available to the younger teen. This makes getting substances not too hard for teenagers. Especially in the case with Hookah Pens, their small size and innocent appearance allows them to be smuggled into school and hidden from parents, teachers, and authorities.

I interviewed a Junior at San Ramon Valley High School about opinion and knowledge regarding Hookah Pens. The interviewed requested to remain anonymous.

Q) What is your opinion about teenagers smoking hookah pens?

A) “I think it looks bad. It doesnt make you look cool, even if you think it does.”

Q) Do you think there are any negative effects of smoking hookah pens VS traditional cigarettes?

A) “Smoking in general is bad. Nothing good can come from it. I’m sure they dont damage your lungs as much as cigarettes, but over-use may be just as harmful.”

Q) How and why would you educate a friend who may smoke hookah’s to try and steer them away from them?

A) “I would absolutely talk to them, not only would I be saving their humility of how stupid they look, but also let them live a year or two longer.”

Q) Even if you knew nothing about the product or its effects, what woul the name “Hookah Pen” make you think [of]?

A) “I would think about the generic hookah machine that has been fitted into a small concealable common-use pen.”

Q) Why, or why do you not, see yourself smoking a hookah pen?

A) “Never, ever, never. I do not want to look like an idiot or endanger my health. My parents raised me smart enough.”

Hookah pens are not as harmless as many teens think (or want to believe). In fact, they are just as dangerous as traditional cigarettes. The human body doesn’t take too kindly to anything inhaled other than Oxygen.

According to The American Cancer Society (ACS) Hookah smoke, like cigarette smoke:

➤  Contains significant amounts of cancer-causing ingredients, such as arsenic, cobalt, chromium, and lead.

Arsenic: Long term exposure may change the way cells  communicate and reduce their ability to function according to Dartmouth University.

➤  Generates heart-disease-causing carbon monoxide in amounts equal to, or greater than, cigarette smoke.

➤  Has the same addictive properties, which can lead a hookah user to begin using cigarettes, or becoming a dual user of hookah and cigarettes.

➤  Hookah users may inhale more smoke than cigarette smokers, because hookah sessions often last an hour or more, during which hookah users will inhale not only the smoke from the hookah itself but also that of the others with whom they are smoking.

➤  Unlike cigarettes, hookah smoke may also contain charcoal or wood cinder combustion products, which can increase risk of cancer and heart disease.

➤  Sharing the hookah’s water pipe can increase the risk of contracting a communicable disease, such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, or meningitis.

Teenagers are sometimes known to ignore facts and warning until it’s too late. While not all teens choose to get involved, the ones who do may regret it later when consequences arise.

Hookah pens are more than often advertised as “tobacco and nicotine free” but as the ACS has found, this is not always the case.   Even a small amount of nicotine can cause one to become addicted.

Children and teenagers are almost always up for trying new things, taking risks, trying to fit in, and become noticed, or just have a good time, but sometimes, these things come with a price.