http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/ed.../19hookah.html
April 19, 2006
Collegians Smoking Hookahs ... Filled With Tobacco
By TAMAR LEWIN
Zachary Kleinhandler, a senior at Columbia College, does not smoke cigarettes. In fact, he thinks cigarette smoking is kind of a dirty habit.
But every few nights, he and his friends share a hookah at the Casbah Rouge, a Moroccan restaurant a few blocks south of the campus, drawing in mellow-as-molasses flavored tobacco that bubbles through the water pipes and gives the air a fruity sweet scent.
"I came opening day last year, and I've been coming ever since," said Mr. Kleinhandler, an American studies major. "I'm not addicted or anything. I always come with other people, and we smoke one hookah in an hour. It's just a nice way to relax and be sociable."
Hookah bars have been cropping up in Middle Eastern immigrant enclaves, like Little Egypt in Astoria, Queens, and have made inroads in chic downtown areas of many American cities. Now, college students are discovering their appeal.
Cafes are not the only place where college students use water pipes.
At Yale, one of the fraternities, Alpha Epsilon Pi, has a hookah room that is for quiet socializing and relaxation — and the calmest area during parties.
"We decided our top floor should be a place where you could get away from the loud music, meet new people, hang out and talk," said Ian Bishop, a fraternity brother.
"We could pull out Taboo or Twister, but there's something nice about sitting around a hookah, blowing smoke rings," he added.
-Rudey
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