Garret Brigman calls his copper, one-hosed hookah "The Goose."

Though his hookah is swan-shaped, Brigman, a freshman in the College of Engineering, said he and his friends have christened it with a less-graceful name for effect. Either way, spending time with it is one of he and his friends' favorite things to do.

"When the hookah comes out, it's party time," Brigman said.

Brigman is one of the many college students who have recently taken an interest in smoking hookah, a large water pipe used to smoke flavored tobacco. He said he was first introduced to hookah during his senior year of high school.

Originally a Middle Eastern tradition, hookah has become increasingly popular in the United States, particularly among college students. Many students own their own hookah or travel to hookah bars to enjoy the flavored tobacco and good conversation.

According to Smokeshop Magazine, somewhere from 200 to 300 hookah bars have opened nationwide — many near college campuses.

"Everyone wants to try it," said Nessar Musa, an owner of Casablanca, a restaurant and hookah bar at 728 E. Brady St. "It looks fun and it's legal."

In part as a result of the war in Iraq, hookah has gained more exposure in the United States.

According to Michael Hemaid, owner of hookah bar and vegetarian restaurant 2 Sweet International Delight, 2128 E. Locust St., many soldiers started smoking hookah during their free time in the evenings and then showed it to their friends in the United States.

"Most of my clientele are from Marquette and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee," Hemaid said.

Hemaid said his customers enjoy coming to the restaurant because they can choose from 35 different flavors of tobacco to smoke while drinking tea, listening to music and enjoying conversation.

"Good conversation always happens when you're sitting around the hookah," Brigman said.

Brigman said now that the weather is warmer he and his friends can be outside smoking hookah or at hookah bars once or twice a month.

"It's just relaxing for some reason," Brigman said.

Brigman and other students said the consider hookah to be a healthier option than smoking.

"I've never thought of it like cigarettes or weed," Brigman said. "Hookah's just different."

And hookah is different, but only to a certain degree, hookah bar owners and health officials said.

Many students say they prefer smoking hookah to cigarettes, cigars or marijuana because they believe it is healthier, but health officials said that although that much is true, hookah is still not a healthy habit.

"It is wrong to think that smoking hookah is a safe thing to do," said Michele Bloch, a physician and medical officer at the National Cancer Institute.