Smoking ban threatens hookahs
A mellow vibe permeates Hookah Bliss these days as college students and other trend-seeking young people socialize over water pipes and 
burning lumps of pungent, fruit-flavored tobacco in the small lounge on the town’s main drag.
That could dissipate, though, when indoor smoking in restaurants and bars is snuffed out across the state at the start of the year.
Hookah bars, which surged in popularity in America’s college towns and big cities when tobacco use was in general decline, find themselves battling the smoking bans that are sweeping the country.
They know of the health risks of secondhand smoke but counter that their patrons choose to come despite the hazards.
The disparity between cigar and hookah bars “just boggles the mind,” said Hookah Bliss owner Adam Bliss — yes, that’s his real name.
“Look at who goes to those places — generally older, affluent white males,” he said. “Besides the fact that this law is creating an elitist association between who can smoke and who can’t, they’re allowing government to put me out of business, and this is supposed to be a free market economy here.”
Unlike bars and restaurants, which still attract customers for drinks and food despite the disappearance of ashtrays, the hookah bars could lose the reason for their existence.
The hookah is a centuries-old device of Middle Eastern and African origin through which flavored tobacco is smoked. Tobacco infused with honey, molasses and other flavors is placed in a bowl at the top of the pipe and heated with charcoal. As smokers inhale through a long, flexible stem, the smoke is pulled through gurgling, cooling water.
Four people can share a pipe for 40 minutes to two hours at an average cost of $10 to $13.
In this state and elsewhere, hookah bars are varied in their fare. Some offer Middle Eastern cuisine, and others offer tea, coffee, beer and wine.
Hisham Saleh, a Jordanian who opened Hookah Haze in Greenville, opened his bar near East Carolina University after running a Middle Eastern cafe in Raleigh for years.
Smoking the hookah — sometimes called narghile, shisha or the hubbly bubbly — is touted in many Middle Eastern homes as a way to relax after a meal and to show respect for friends and guests.
Saleh and others are looking to states such as Florida and New York, where hookah bars have found ways to survive despite smoking bans.
Some places have made cultural exemptions for the bars. Others in warmer climates offer outdoor patio smoking only.
Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, a Democrat from Carrboro, tried to persuade a colleague in the state Senate to make an exemption for hookah bars before the ban was approved last month. But the bill sponsor would not go along with the proposal because of the health hazards the bars pose for young smokers.
Not so good for you
The American Cancer Society and others worried about smoking risks have tried to dispel the popular myth that hookah smoking is not as hazardous as cigarette smoking. Health care workers warn that hookah smokers are susceptible to bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease and other problems associated with smoking.
“The simple fact is that hookah smoking is no better, and it may be worse, than any other smoke,” said Dr. Adam Goldstein, director of the tobacco prevention and evaluation program at UNC Medical Center. “The only good aspect about the hookah trend is it is a blip in history that will be gone in 10 years.”
Goldstein does not favor smoking ban exemptions for hookah bars, and he is no more supportive of those in place for cigar bars.
“It’s a serious issue,” Goldstein said. “The fact that kids see and think of cigar smoking as elite and high-end promotes tobacco use. Right now we have to deal with this.”
Kinnaird said she is working with House members to look for a bill, perhaps one to curtail smoking in prisons, to attach an amendment that would give hookah bars room to stay in business.
Bliss, 41, who opened Hookah Bliss two years ago on Franklin Street, said the ban hits him hard as small businesses struggle during the recession.
“In this economy, if they shut me down, I will lose my house,” Bliss said. “I’ve never been very political, I have to admit, but this has my dander up.”
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