Hookah waterpipe: More prevalent than the cigarette among community college students

Results from the first ever community college study on waterpipe use (n=1,207) in fall 2011 at two demographically diverse schools in Southern California found use in the higher range of the collegiate literature (seventeen peer-reviewed studies; all from four-year schools, 2004-2011) - 55.5% reported ever using the waterpipe, and more than one in three (34.1%) used it in the previous year. More students have experimented with the waterpipe than ever smoked a cigarette, 48.8%. Current use, 10.8%, is associated with current alcohol (AOR=2.8, p<.001), current cigar (AOR=2.5, p<.01) and current cigarette use (AOR=1.8, p<.05) as well as female binge drinking (AOR=1.8, p=<.05). Compared to African-Americans, Whites are 2.9 times (p<.05) more likely to be current users. Current marijuana, illegal drug, and smokeless tobacco use are not associated with any measure of waterpipe use and there are also no gender or economic (financial aid, first generation, and hours worked per week status) differences. Self-identified athletes have and currently use the waterpipe just as equally as non-athletes. Students believing the waterpipe very socially acceptable are 21 times (p<.001) more likely to be current users than those who believe it not at all acceptable. The community college is a high risk environment for waterpipe use, adding a new dimension to this growing trend. Waterpipe health education and cessation programs are needed at the college and pre-college levels, as well as more stringent tobacco control measures. Regulations and ordinances must specifically reference the waterpipe and target locales where it is used, served, and sold.