摘要：Hookah use is gaining popularity nationwide. We determined the correlates and trends for hookah use from the California Tobacco Survey. Between 2005 and 2008 hookah use increased more than 40%, and in 2008, 24.5% of young men reported ever using a hookah. Hookah use was more common among the young (18–24 years), the educated, the non-Hispanic Whites, and the cigarette smokers. Hookah use is increasing in California, especially among young adults, and in 2008 reached the highest prevalence ever reported for both genders. Cigarette smoking has decreased in the United States nationwide, from 24.1% in 1998 to 20.6% in 2008, 1 and in California, from 16.1% in 1999 to 11.6% in 2008. 2 However, the use of hookah—water pipes used for smoking tobacco, often as the center of social gatherings—appears to be gaining popularity in the United States, especially among adolescents 3 , 4 and young adults. 5 – 11 Although hookah use is related to several preventable diseases 12 – 20 and may be more dangerous than cigarettes, 21 – 23 increased use may be caused by the belief that it is less harmful than cigarettes. 9 , 24 – 27 California has long used a statewide tobacco surveillance tool, the California Tobacco Survey (CTS), to monitor early statewide trends in tobacco use. Using data from the CTS, we assessed the changes in hookah prevalence among California adults from 2005 to 2008.
