Issue date: 8/20/08 Section: NEWS

Media Credit: Bo Joplin Teddy Logsdon from El Paso smokes the hookah at Natalie's Cafe and Hookah Lounge on Hickory Street

As the first weekend of the fall semester approaches, UNT students who went out of town or back home will return to their local haunts.

Applied arts and sciences senior Ryan Claterbaugh said he looks forward to the first weekend of each new semester. Claterbaugh is a frequent customer at Denton's hookah bars and plans on reuniting with his friends there in the upcoming weekends.

"I love all the hookah bars in Denton," Claterbaugh said. "Each one has a different vibe, so I choose which one I visit depending on my mood."

A hookah pipe is a water pipe with shisha, which is tobacco in a variety of flavors, Claterbaugh said.

Newly renovated, Eisley's Hookah Lounge takes the shisha experience to a new level. General Manager Ken Hendrickson said the lounge has a full bar, the first and only for any Denton hookah lounge. Hendrickson also announced the addition of a state-of-the-art sound system. At 212 E. Hickory St., this lounge is directed toward students seeking a total club experience.

Also popular among students is Kush Oxygen and Hookah Bar. At 1302 E. Hickory St., Kush has a Middle Eastern vibe and is BYOB. There is a charge to bring in alcohol, but Kush provides cups and ice.

Students looking to multi-task should pay a visit to Natalie's Hookah Lounge. At 233 W. Hickory St., Natalie's serves up more than just tobacco. This lounge offers a full menu, including a number of coffee selections. During the day, Natalie's is a great place to study. In the evening, the lounge has been known to host local bands and karaoke each Saturday.

Hookah facts you may not know

Even after smoke passes through hookah water it contains high levels of toxic compounds including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals (Tobacco Control, 2004; Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 1993).
Using a waterpipe hookah is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking (Journal of Pediatrics, 2005).

A typical one-hour long waterpipe hookah session involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette (World Health Organization, 2005).
Hookah smoke produces nearly 100 times more "tar" than cigarette smoke, for each gram of the respective tobaccos (Journal of Food &Chemical Toxicology, 2005).

Hookah users ingest about 100 times more lead from hookah smoke than from a cigarette (City of Berkley Tobacco Prevention Program, 2004).
Hookah smoke is capable of causing breakage of chromosomes and damaging DNA, thereby causing mutations or cancer (City of Berkley Tobacco Prevention Program, 2004).

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