Smoking.

Quite the loaded word on first glance. As far as words-for-which-context-matters are concerned, count smoking among them. In some contexts, our natural reactions can be rather strong—think along the lines of smoking kills beneath the sympathetic picture of a lonely infant. Other times, most of us are less inclined to think much of the word—consider the obsolete "she's smoking (or, to be more nuanced, smokin') hot."

And how about smoking hookah? What type of reaction does that elicit?

For too many college students, probably not much of one. After all, unwinding with a hookah on the Great Lawn once the temperature finally rises above that 70 degrees Fahrenheit mark at the end of a bitter cold winter—that's a pretty relaxing image, right?

It probably shouldn't be. Smoking hookah is simply not so safe. A widely circulated article in The New York Times from last May surveyed some of these risks, along with the attitudes of state governments, universities and students toward the practice.

The article cites a 2005 World Health Organization study whose results show that an hour's worth of hookah smoking may be equivalent in smoke inhalation to smoking upward of 100 cigarettes. The Times article further notes that other studies have come to similar conclusions, linking the health consequences of hookah smoking to those of cigarette smoking.

That same article also captures various student opinions on the matter. The students interviewed in the article by The Times, as might be expected for this issue, were largely unaware of the health risks potentially associated with hookah smoking.

Numerous states are taking a variety of actions to respond to the new research on hookah smoking—often specifically to curb, and ideally end, the recent proliferation of hookah bars. Those attempts to protect individuals from the dangers of secondhand hookah smoke are admirable.

But both anecdotally and statistically speaking, a notable portion of hookah smoking occurs on college campuses. So what should universities be doing in response?

Just as with cigarette smoking, universities are caught in a rather awkward position. Cigarette smoking is dangerous; it literally kills. And secondhand smoking can be just as dangerous—although as smoking regulations have proven, such problems can be controlled.

A handful of colleges have been initiating smoke-free campus policies. Developing such a policy for Brandeis could be part of a future discussion here, but it might make for a rather rash starting step.

There is, however, something we can do in the meantime, a proper course of immediate action: Prevent Student Union-recognized and chartered clubs from hosting events with hookah smoking.

Back in September, the Brandeis Zionist Alliance hosted a hookah night on the Great Lawn. Next week, Chabad at Brandeis will be hosting its annual "Hookah in the Sukkah" event.

It's true that hookah has some resonating cultural value with Arab culture and Middle Eastern Jews and, more recently, Israelis. However, this practice is far from one that a campus club could reasonably argue as a primary cultural practice that they need to officially host; no cultural exception ought to be applied here.

We wouldn't stand for a cigarette-themed event, and we shouldn't stand for a hookah-themed one.

Smoking might have many meanings. But hookah smoking is dangerous, and our clubs shouldn't be hosting it.