back to news Hookah pipe users risk herpes, says doctor Bill Scanlon / Scripps Howard News Service March 13. 2008 People who opt for the supposedly safe smoke of a hookah pipe are sucking in the chemical equivalent of dozens of cigarettes and are risking mouth herpes and other diseases, a Colorado State University doctor says. In the past couple of weeks, two CSU students, and possibly a third, developed mouth herpes shortly after attending their first sessions at Fort Collins hookah bars, said Dr. Jane Higgins, infection-control physician at CSU´s Hartshorn Health Services. A typical session with a pipe at a hookah bar lasts 45 minutes to an hour and costs $10 to $20, according to "Reducing Hookah Use," a report by TobaccoFreeU.org. The ruling effectively ends the two cases brought before the high court. The shisha tobacco used in hookah pipes often is soaked in molasses and honey. Research has shown that one hour on a hookah pipe exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke of a single cigarette, according to the report, which is available at The Bacchus Network´s Web site, which is devoted to keeping college students healthier. The smoke also has high levels of arsenic, lead and nickel, 36 times the tar of a single cigarette and 15 times the carbon dioxide. Higgins put the risk of contracting mouth herpes from a hookah pipe at roughly the same level as sharing drinks with friends. But one Denver hookah-cafe owner said his business takes several precautions to keep his customers safe: Hookahs are washed after each use, each user has his own mouthpiece which is disposed of after each use, the pipes are brushed and hoses sanitized, and customers can use a filter. Hookah bars are increasingly popular because of the sociability of sharing a pipe with friends and because college-age people think it´s healthier than cigarettes, Higgins said. "But it´s an absolute myth" that because the smoke is filtered through water that smokers are getting nothing harmful, he said. back to news Sponsored by the Macomb County Tobacco Prevention Coalition, Macomb County Health Department. 586.469.5373. Disclaimer