LANSING – Oakland Community College student Ryan O’Connor, 18, had his first experience smoking hookah tobacco in 10th grade.

The White Lake resident said his friends introduced him to hookah tobacco and the water pipe used to smoke it.

“I smoke hookah because it’s relaxing and it tastes good,” O’Connor said. “It’s also fun to play with the smoke.”

The growing fad of hookah-smoking among teens and college students has led lawmakers to introduce bills to combat hookah tobacco use and to educate the public about its dangers.

The bills, sponsored by Sen. Buzz Thomas, D-Detroit, Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman, D-Detroit, and Rep. Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn, and others, would create a public awareness campaign about dangers associated with the tobacco and water pipes.

Polidori said, “I remember when I used to smoke four packs (of cigarettes) a day. Hookah sessions can contain as much smoke as five packs in one sitting. Can you imagine what that does to your lungs?

“We need to make young adults aware of the hidden dangers involving the hookah tobacco and pipe.

“It is a misconception that hookah is safer than cigarettes because it is filtered through a water pipe, but this is not the case. Hookah tobacco is packaged to look like candy, but there are serious risks involved in smoking it,” he said.

Water pipes have been used to smoke tobacco for at least four centuries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A physician, Hakim Abul Fath, invented a water pipe between 1556 and 1605 as a safer method of tobacco use. Fath suggested that passing the smoke through water would render the tobacco harmless, a belief that’s commonly held by hookah and water pipe smokers today, WHO reported.

Contrary to popular misperception, smoke that comes out of the water pipe contains toxic substances known to cause lung cancer and heart disease. In addition, during a 60-minute hookah session a water pipe smoker inhales as much smoke as a cigarette smoker would inhale from 100 or more cigarettes, WHO said. Hookah smokers are also more prone to gum disease and tooth loss it said.

James McCurtis, communications director for the Department of Community Health, said the department supports the basic goals of the legislation.

“Our preference is to see all tobacco smoke be banned from restaurants and public places. With that said, we do support the general theory in terms of educating the public about the dangers of hookah tobacco,” McCurtis said.

If the bills pass, Community Health would be responsible for the awareness campaign, although there’s no estimate on how much such a campaign would cost.

As a part of the campaign, stores and restaurants that sell hookah tobacco and water pipes or allow the smoking of hookah tobacco would have to post signs that warn of the health effects. Labels would also be required for water pipes and tobacco packages, similar to surgeon general warnings on cigarettes.

Businesses that fail to obey the law could be fined up to $100 for each infraction.

O’Connor said he and other users already know the dangers when it comes to smoking and tobacco.

“It’s like smoking cigarettes - you can warn someone all day about the dangers of it, but it won’t make them stop doing something that stimulates them,” he said.

In addition to the awareness campaign, the bills would require that water pipes used in hookah lounges and bars be properly sanitized after each use.

Polidori said, “If you already sanitize your water pipes, there shouldn’t be an issue with this requirement. If mouthpieces aren’t properly cleaned and are being shared among people, diseases can be spread easily.”

Dinah Ayna, the substance abuse prevention program coordinator for the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Dearborn, said an outbreak of tuberculosis in Egypt was traced back to the sharing of water pipe mouthpieces and prompted the WHO to take a closer look at the growing fad of hookah smoking.

The call to properly sanitize hookah equipment also came in the WHO report.

For the past five years, Ayna has been trying to educate businesses in Michigan about the harmful health effects of hookah use after she saw an increase in the number of cafes and bars selling hookah tobacco. It was Ayna, in conjunction with representatives from the American Arab Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn, that brought the issue to the legislators.

Thomas said, “Our bill package is win-win. We did not want to impose a burden on businesses and the state while also educating consumers, and we have a great balance. There is little burden on anyone, and hopefully consumers will have more information to make educated decisions.”

The bills are in the Senate Economic Development and Regulatory Reform Committee and the House Regulatory Reform Committee. Other sponsors includeSens. Martha Scott, D- Highland Park; Dennis Olshove, D-Warren; John Pappageorge, R- Troy; and Reps. Aldo Vagnozzi, D-Farmington Hills, Marie Donigan, D- Royal Oak; and John Stakoe, R- Highland.