Hookah pipes, single or multi-stemmed instruments for smoking tobacco in which the smoke is cooled by water, are increasing in popularity among youths in the U.S. Traditionally used in Africa, the Middle East, and many parts of Asia, hookah use appeals because of its flavored and sweetened tobacco and the social and communal experience of smoking. Hookah tobacco is often sold along with alcohol and is marketed with names suggesting cocktails popular among young drinkers. Many researchers have identified hookah smoking among youth as a dangerous practice especially when inhalation is frequent, and customers in smoke-filled spaces are exposed to secondhand smoke. In some countries as well as some U.S. cities, hookah smoking has been partially controlled using existing tobacco control policies, or banned altogether. As part of an ongoing ICR program of tobacco research in India and the U.S., ICR researcher Jean Schensul and medical geographer Ellen Cromley have developed a strategy for monitoring the effects of policies banning hookah use in Mumbai. GIS-based mapping of hookah bars, clubs, restaurants and sales outlets can serve as a rapid surveillance instrument that documents the efficacy of local and national control policies over time.