With all the negative effects being attached to hookah smoking lately, a new trend has started to emerge in the form of hookah pens. The question is: are they safe?

First let's get to know more about it. What's a hookah pen and how does it work?

Dr. Donald Bucklin, Regional Medical Director for U.S. HealthWorks, described a hookah pen in his op-ed article on Rocklin and Roseville Today as "an e-cigarette for the avant-garde." That's probably because it sports a stylish and colorful design that is quickly attracting the attention of club goers, regular smokers, and even some celebrities.

Hookah pens are available in different flavors, such as Grape, Vanilla, Coffee, Strawberry, Blueberry, Peach, Apple, and more. They are advertised as tobacco-, tar-, and nicotine-free.

Making up a hookah pen are the battery, the filling, and the evaporator. When you take a puff, the battery heats up the evaporator to vaporize a liquid that you inhale. At the end of a hookah pen is an LED light which illuminates every time you inhale.

In addition to being trendy, hookah pens are widely favored because they are portable that you can practically carry one anywhere you go. But at the end of the day, it all boils down to one very important question: do they make a safer alternative to hookah smoking?

As Dr. Bucklin pointed out: "The use of a hookah pen is not dangerous in and of itself." However, they do not come without some consequences.

The biggest danger of hookah pens is they can encourage people to smoke more of it and may even lead to a certain level of addiction. People who use hookah pen may also experience throat ache or muscle aches given the product's Propylene Glycol content.

It's also noteworthy to understand that a hookah pen is only good for 500 up to 700 puffs, which means, if you are a heavy hookah smoker you may end up spending ten dollars a week or double that amount.

The long-term effect of smoking hookah pens, if there's any, is not fully known. Some say that even though the product is being advertised as nicotine-free, it still contains a very small amount of nicotine, the basic ingredient found in cigarettes.  Now whether a hookah pen does have or doesn't have nicotine content, the only way to know for sure if it's okay or detrimental for your health is to talk with your healthcare provider before you start using it.