We Take A Look At The Hookah Culture In The City, Before And After The Recent Raids
It has been a month since the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate of Police carried out raids at several hookah joints all over the city. Contrary to the assumption, that all such joints would have closed down by now, the culture still remains quite prominent among the youth of Bhubaneswar.
According to DCP, Bhubaneswar, Satyabrata Bhoi, “Post the raid, joints operating in violation of COTPA have been penalised by the state government. These joints can restart their businesses only when they submit the fine and obtain the relevant licenses. Those in the clear can continue with their respective businesses. However, we have issued an order that those wanting to open any such outlets from now on would need to specifically enlist all items that will be sold.”
Location: Tyre Patty
It was six years back when hookah became a part of the city lifestyle when Club Xstacy started its sale. Several others rapidly caught up with the trend and soon turned out to be sought-after destinations among the youth in the city. Out of more than two dozen joints currently in the city, the popular ones include Hookie Dookie, Mad Mule, Chill Umm, Adda, Tyre Patty, Richard’s Kitchen and Coffee Bar, Amigo, the Konnect Cafe, Chai Break among others.
However, post the raid, most hookah bars in the city have changed the hookah base to herbal or flavoured components. Opining on the raids, owner of popular food-joint Mad Mule, Asit Satpathy says, “Other states have well-defined authorities that provide licenses for the sale of hookah. Odisha on the other hand, has no such authorising body which also, does not give the BMC (Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation) the authority to carry out raids. Each hookah joint creates employment for around 20 to 25 people and when you ban hookah, these joints are forced to shut down and these people would lose their livelihoods. The state government must define their policies and then act!”
Location: The Hub
Even though these joints mostly attract college students, entertaining minors as customers has also become a serious cause of concern among parents.
A source wishing to maintain anonymity says, “Somejoints have put up a front of not selling hookah anymore while discretely selling alcohol-based Hookah on the side.” Most joints however claim to have switched to herbal hookah while all joints claim to have stopped the sale of other alcohol and tobacco-based products.
Clarifying the difference between normal and herbal hookah, owner of popular joint Hookie-Dookie, Saptarshi Karan says, “Normal hookah contains nominal percentages of nicotine but herbal hookah does not contain any nicotine. The taste varies though and people might not find herbal hookah to be as tasty as regular hookah. But, customer satisfaction is our first priority for which we have expert hookah makers trying to make the taste between the two as indistinguishable as possible.” Nonetheless, hookah still continues to be one of the most popular attractions for Bhubaneswar’s youth.
Location: Chill Ummm
Talking to MCL, Dr. Dipanshu Mohanty, an Internal medicine specialist, says, “The fact remains that hookah too can cause cancer. The charcoal used to heat the tobacco produces gases like carbon monoxide and benzene byproducts which can cause cancer and several pulmonary diseases. Tobacco also contains nicotine, cotinine and NNAL (a lung carcinogen) even after it is passed through water. Even herbal hookah produces carbon monoxide and other carcinogens. I am sorry to be bursting the bubble for so many youngsters out there, but hookah most definitely is not a safer alternative to cigarette smoking. If you want to live long and die happy, stop smoking anything altogether!”
In spite of the continuous citywide broadcasts along with the reportage of facts proving hookah to be as harmful as tobacco and cigarette- smoking, most youngsters have chosen to neglect the implications of their actions. A law student from Utkal University comments, “Students used to hang out a lot at Adda. But after the raid, not many prefer going there. Plus, there are several alternatives. I personally believe hookah is soon going to become as important as alcohol for Odisha, both socially and politically!”
However, the present situation, for sure, raises serious concerns for the parents not wishing to expose their children to the hookah culture.
In response to why youngsters are so drawn to hookah, 19-year-old Subham Chowhan says, “It’s new and very attractive! There are no hangovers whatsoever, no side effects. It’s a good way to pass time and a great escape! Hookah is more of a social thing, no one craves it as such.”
While Bhubaneswar is rapidly adopting a cosmopolitan culture, in the process of making India’s first smart city even smarter, both the government and the youth need to decide on the smartest course of action, even if it concerns lifestyle changes.
Feature and Banner Image Courtesy: Odisha News Insight