Popularity of Hookah Lounges among College Students, San Diego, California: A web-based survey

Introduction: Hookah lounges, venues that offer customers the opportunity to smoke tobacco using hookahs (waterpipe), are opening near colleges. A hookah smoker inhales charcoal-heated tobacco smoke that passes through a partially-filled water container. The purpose of this study was to investigate patterns of hookah lounge attendance among undergraduate college students.

Methods: A random sample of 10,000 undergraduate college students at a public university in San Diego, California, were selected to receive an email invitation to participate in a web-based survey on hookah use. A total of 1,367 consented to participate.

Results: The mean age was 22.3 years (SD=3.94). The majority were females (66.4%), White (45%) followed by Hispanics (22.5%); and were aware of hookah (95%). More than one-half (69%) were first aware of hookah lounges by friends and 14% by passing near one. Of those who had ever tried hookah (71.8%), a total of 53.3% reported current occasional hookah use. Of those who had ever visited a hookah lounge (65.1%), a total of 45.4% visited a hookah lounge near college; 37.6% reported usual time spent at a hookah lounge to be 91-120 minutes. Males were more likely to have ever tried hookah (76%) than females (69.5%). Logistic regression analysis showed that ever cigarette smokers and ever hookah smokers predicted ever hookah lounge attendance among undergraduate college students. Gender, ethnicity and age were not significant predictors.

Conclusions: Policy makers and health professionals need to address the proliferation of hookah lounges and the spread of hookah use among college students.