When India is rapidly witnessing rapid technological advancement, most of today's generation are leaving behind the extra ordinary culture and traditions of the societies we live in. However, there's one culture, which is now attracting youth in urban areas .Wonder what it is? The hookah or the water pipe. Hookah tradition was one of the dangerous and bad habits of the then emperors of the country. While emperors and forts have gone with the wind, the smoke culture they left is still in the air, which is now becoming a curse to the society.

When Andhra Wishesh team contacted many youngsters in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and in all cosmopolitan cities, many of them had more or less similar opinions. They said hookah was a tradition and there was no harm in taking it as it marks the symbol of royalty. But, when we questioned them on the toxic substances in hookah smoke, all of them had a clueless expression on their faces.

Hookah bars:
Noticing the craze among youngsters for hookah, many people have allegedly opened up hookah bars in almost all major cities. A single session of hookah, which last about 30 to 60 minutes, a person would be charged around Rs. 500. Some restaurants are even offering discounts to attract youth. Some restaurants charge just Rs. 300 for around two laps and once a person gets addicted to hookah and when the bars charge him high, he/she would be ending up hurting the pockets besides ruining their health in the name of life style.

Flavours:
In the national capital territory, there are over 100 hookah bars, which offer over 100 flavours. Right from apple to chocolate, people visiting hookah bars have a wide range of options to choose their flavours and enjoy them. But, they are apparently forgetting that hookah smoke contains high levels of carcinogen (cancer causing substances) and carbon monoxide. So, hookah smokers are more prone to lung cancer compared to cigarette smokers.

Etiquette of hookah:
There is an etiquette for hookah smoking and when someone doesn't follow these instruction, one is said to be insulting the hookah culture. One is said not to smoke hookah with a left hand. Hookah should be placed on the ground and not on the table. One should not directly pass on hookah to the other person.

All of them who visit hookah bars stick to these rules and enjoy the smoke. But, then why is it that the same seriousness and respect towards one's health and family is being ignored is a billion dollar question.

(AW Phani)