Fatal attraction: Hooked to hookah

Enjoying a puff, listening to soft music amidst what can only be called as royal ambience, is a recreation that Sirish and his friend Giridhar look forward to every evening after work. Their favourite haunt is a hookah centre located at the Nagarjuna circle near Punjagutta. “We know hookah is dangerous than a cigarette. But we do not prefer that puff with an intoxicating flavour. We just chat up with friends and enjoy the light varieties,” says Giridhar, who works as a systems analyst for an IT firm in Madhapur.For these youngsters, inhaling a hookah is more or less like having an innocuous drink. And coming as it does for just Rs. 250 an hour, it doesn’t pinch them much either. A number of smoking pipes are on offer at many hookah centres -- tobacco flavoured with honey, lemon, fruits or molasses. They are literally spoilt for choice. Besides, it is trendy in the twin cities where hookah bars are popping up everywhere. “Youngsters, mostly from rich families, prefer our centre where we provide hookah in different flavours. They come and enjoy puffing whatever they like paying off just Rs. 250 to Rs. 500,’’ says Ankith, manager of a hookah centre located on road No 2, Banjara Hills. However, he hastened to add that they strictly follow rules and regulations. Minors are strictly not allowed, he claims.A hookah is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument in which the tobacco smoke is cooled and filtered as it passes through water. The rate for a session of hookah (60-100 minutes) ranges from a modest Rs. 250 to Rs. 1000 at high-end restaurants. The charges vary according to ambience.  With a report from the forensic laboratory suggesting that a sample from a hookah contains nicotine and hookah centres allowing minors, the city police started cracking the whip on the violators. The police estimate that 500 hookah bars are running illegally in the city.  As per the rules, these centres will have to take police permission and follow fixed schedules to entertain customers. K Raghuram Reddy, additional deputy commissioner of police, Task Force, has warned that cases would be booked against illegal hookah bars under sections 188, 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale) and 273 (sale of noxious food or drink). “We have authentic information that several hookah bars have been functioning illegally. They attract a huge number of school and college-going students. After receiving information, we conducted raids on various centres. The owners could not produce any licence. Strict action will be taken against them,’’ he said.  The hookah joints do not use ISI certified products, do not have separate smoking and non-smoking areas and to top it all, some use liquor to give that extra high. Due to unclean pipes, there is a chance of communicable disease spreading. 

By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com