Hookah Usage and Resistance to Smokefree Air Laws

Audience: Tobacco control advocates in regions with rising hookah usage.

Key Points: Over the past decade, tobacco control advocates have worked with legislators to pass smokefree indoor air laws across the nation. These laws have proven successful, with high levels of compliance and public support regardless of the political climate and attitudes toward public health.

During the same period of time, water pipes, typically known as hookahs, have increased in popularity. From 2008 to 2010, the New Jersey Youth Tobacco Use Survey reported an 18% increase in hookah usage by high school students. While once used only in small subsets of particular ethnic communities, hookah use has become common across socioeconomic lines, particularly among the young. Not only has this eroded the gains in tobacco prevention won by smokefree indoor air laws, but it has also created growing compliance issues and negative public sentiment toward those laws.

Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy, a New Jersey tobacco control nonprofit, will present a case study of hookah usage in New Jersey and it’s connection to opposition to the 2006 NJ Smoke-Free Air Act that banned indoor smoking in most indoor public areas and workplaces.

Educational Experience: The audience will learn from a case study highlighting increased hookah use prevalence in New Jersey and increased resistance to the NJ Smoke-Free Air Act.

Benefits: Advocates will understand the connection between hookah usage and resistance to smokefree air laws and how to craft policies and campaigns that minimize resistance and defend smokefree policies.