--- title: Nearly 1 in 5 High School Seniors Smoke Hookah description: The variety of flavors of tobacco makes hookah attractive and easier to conceal from parents, study found canonical: https://time.com/2960476/hookah-high-school-teens/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-07T13:18:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:59:31.298Z article:section: Health og:title: Nearly 1 in 5 High School Seniors Smoke Hookah og:description: The variety of flavors of tobacco makes hookah attractive and easier to conceal from parents, study found og:url: https://time.com/2960476/hookah-high-school-teens/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce292899b92f10bd/69869a9e35ba6f16cfc02e43/135239706.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 135239706 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nearly 1 in 5 High School Seniors Smoke Hookah twitter:description: The variety of flavors of tobacco makes hookah attractive and easier to conceal from parents, study found twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce292899b92f10bd/69869a9e35ba6f16cfc02e43/135239706.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Nearly 1 in 5 High School Seniors Smoke Hookah, Study Finds by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 7, 2014 1:18 PM UTC  Arab traditions - shisha (water pipe) Arab traditions - shisha (water pipe)Emy Kat—Getty Images/GraphEast RF by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 7, 2014 1:18 PM UTC Almost 1 in 5 (18%) of high school seniors smoke waterpipes, or “hookahs”, according to a new study from New York University (NYU) researchers. The new report, which is published in the journal _Pediatrics_, looked at a survey of 15,000 high school seniors from 130 public and private high schools nationwide and focused on a population of 5,540 students who were asked about their hookah use between 2010 and 2012. The researchers found that about one in five seniors reported smoking hookah–waterpipes used to smoke specially-made tobacco–in the last year. And smoking hookah was more common among teens in big cities. “What we find most interesting is that students of higher socioeconomic status appear to be more likely to use hookah,” [said](http://www.eurekalert.org/emb%5Freleases/2014-07/nlmc-nrf070114.php) study author Joseph J. Palamar, an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC). “Surprisingly, students with more educated parents or higher personal income are at high risk for use.” Cigarette smoking rates among young people are down, with a recent CDC [report](http://time.com/2864214/teen-smoking-is-way-down-but-what-about-e-cigs/) showing rates of cigarette smoking among high school students has dropped to its lowest level in 22 years. But public health workers are also worried about other tobacco and nicotine products like cigars, hookah, and e-cigarettes. A 2012 [report](http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/02/cigarette-smokers-switch-to-cheaper-cigars-and-pipes/) showed a 123% increase in the use of other smokable tobacco products like cigars and pipes. The researchers note, however, that smoking hookah doesn’t usually happen as often as cigarettes, and tends to happen more occasionally. Still, the researchers are worried about “hookah pens,” smoking devices similar to e-cigs which makes smoking hookah simpler. “These nifty little devices are likely to attract curious consumers, possibly even non-cigarette smokers,” said Palamar. 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