It is disturbing that the opening of a hookah lounge makes the front page ("Where smoke gets in your eyes, really," Nov. 20).
The use of a water pipe as a tobacco-delivery system has become glamorized. Many feel the water filters make the smoke less harmful, which is a myth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the user inhales 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette in a one-hour hookah session.
Even though water is in the pipes, the smoke coming out of the mouthpiece still contains carbon monoxide, tar, nicotine and heavy metals.
Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in this country. Today, 70 New Yorkers died from tobacco.
Where is the outrage around hookah lounges, cigar shops and the sale of cigarettes in general?
The real truth: There is nothing glamorous about it.
JERI BOSMAN, RN
Delmar