06:50 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 16, 2006

By Janice Williamson / 11 News

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A new fad is filtering its way through Houston, and it could be cause for concern.

KHOU-TV

Sharing the mouthpiece increases a smoker's risk of getting infectious disease such as hepatitis, herpes and mononucleosis.

Shisha, hooka, hubblebubble – by any name, it’s smoking a water pipe.

“This is just something where you sit around with your friends and talk,” Brittney Krakower said. “It’s a community activity.”

The centuries-old Middle Eastern custom is becoming more mainstream in the West.

“You just enjoy it,” Emily Pylant said. “It’s not addictive.”

According to the National Health Organization, taking 50 to 100 puffs from a hookah is the same as smoking 100 cigarettes.

“They are actually getting the same types of chemicals,” Donna Warren-Morris with the UT Dental Branch said.

At the UT Dental Branch, students are learning about the new trend and its dangers.

“People have the misconception it’s filtered by water, but it’s just a pulling mechanism for the smoke,” student Elizabeth Lee said.

The students visited local hookah bars and saw something that disturbed them.

“A lot of these places now aren’t carding the people who are doing it, so you can have a 16-year-old walk in and try to hookah,” student Valeri Cavazos said.

The students also learned that sharing the mouthpiece increases a smoker’s risk of getting infectious disease such as hepatitis, herpes and mononucleosis.

“This is social like they said,” Pylant said. “It’s just fun, it tastes good – a cigarette is straight nicotine.”

Hookah tobacco is soaked in molasses and flavored. So much so that critics believe it gives users a false sense of safety.

“When you’re at the doctor and they ask you if you smoke, my answer would be now,” Krakower said. “This is not something I do every day.”

It’s a trend that could lead more people to get hooked on hookah.

A report issued by the World Health Organization a few months ago indicated that water pipe smokers are at risk for the same diseases as cigarette smokers, including cancer and heart disease.