If you’re thinking of smoking a hookah for the first time, then there are some things that you need to know about it before you start. First thing is to make sure that you’re in a comfortable environment and not anywhere where you can be distracted by other people or outside factors. Secondly, one should understand what hookah is and how it works. A hookah is a water pipe used to smoke shisha which is tobacco or other smokable materials. There are three parts to a hookah: the base, the bowl, and the hose. The bowl holds the shish as well as an airtight seal by which air passes through from the hose when someone inhales from it. In addition, those who partake in smoking a hookah should learn about the health implications of smoking hookah.
About Hookahs
Source: topnewscorner.com
When you smoke a hookah, there are four main kinds of substances that get released into your body: nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and heavy metals. Nicotine is what gets smokers addicted to cigarettes or other tobacco products. Tar in shisha is the substance that coats your lungs when you smoke something like cigarettes which leads to cancer and many other health problems. Carbon monoxide can lead to heart attacks, brain damage, and even death while heavy metals such as lead can also be found in shisha which causes cancer just like tar does. Lastly, if inhaling too much smoke could result in nausea, vomiting, or headaches so it’s important not to overdo it on the shisha and to take breaks between puffs.
There are many things that you need to know when smoking a hookah for the first time such as what it is and how it works, the different kinds of substances that get released into your body when smoking such as nicotine, tar, and heavy metals, and lastly not to overdo it when smoking hookah. If all this information is learned beforehand then one should have an enjoyable experience while smoking a hookah for the first time.
History of hookahs
Source: hindustantimes.com
Hookah is the most common name for a water pipe in the Middle East and neighboring regions. The word Hookah was used mainly in India, Persia, Pakistan but it has spread to many other places in the world. It is also called narghile or shisha in some parts of the world, which means “hubble bubble.”
The hookahs are used for smoking flavored tobacco, sometimes tobacco mixed with molasses or honey is added to enhance its sweet flavor, though it may have different flavors according to place.
There are three main components that make up a hookah:
1) The bowl that contains the flavored tobacco/molasses mix
2) Hose – usually made from leather with metal mouthpiece
3) Water Jar – to act as the base of the hookah
The origin of the water pipe is unknown but it was commonly used in India, Persia, and Southeast Asia region for smoking flavored tobacco. The hookah traveled to other countries like Egypt by travelers who brought this custom with them. Now hookah has become a tradition in many places to smoke flavored tobacco that doesn’t contain Nicotine. It is also used by people who are trying to stop smoking cigarettes or other products containing nicotine. For example, it is common practice in Indian restaurants for people after dinner to smoke hookah while chatting over coffee.
Exports from El Badia tell us that many countries have given the idea of making the process healthier for smokers by using filtered tips, charcoal plates, etc…but nothing can replace the positive feeling of smoking hookah.
Smoking hookah is quite popular all around the world, especially among college students for its fruity taste. However, smoking hookah comes with a certain amount of risk due to mixing shisha with tobacco or other harmful substances. As per World Health Organization (WHO) report, people who smoke 30gms to 100gm daily are at greater risk because it’s 10 times more than an average cigarette smoker. This clearly shows that smoking hookahs are far worse than smoking cigarettes which have only 4-7 grams of Tobacco. Although there are many places where smoking hookahs are banned but it is rapidly increasing and becoming popular everywhere in colleges and on social gatherings like small get-togethers and birthday parties.
Where is hookah popular?
Hookah has become very popular all around the world. It is especially common in the Middle East and Southeast Asia where it originated. For example, hookah is very popular among college students for its fruity taste. However, smoking hookahs are far worse than smoking cigarettes.
What does hookah contain?
Source: heart.org
The tobacco in hookah is different than cigarettes or other smoking products since these are flavored with molasses and honey. This not only ensures that the smoker has a fruity flavor but also it reduces the amount of nicotine. The effect of using molasses varies depending on its quality, quantity used, length of time heated before use, etc. A study shows that people who smoke Hookah get more Nicotine than they would get from cigarettes because most smokers don’t wait for shisha to heat up long enough so some un-burnt particles enter their lungs which increase Nicotine intake by 33%. Another reason why people get a higher amount of nicotine is that they tend to inhale deeper than cigarette smokers which lead to higher nicotine intake. However, the benefit of using fruity flavor outweighs the negative effect of Nicotine since smokers get satisfied with this kind of flavor rather than cigarettes.
What are the ingredients used in hookah?
There is a variety of flavors used in hookahs such as apple, strawberry, grape, and chocolate which makes the product very popular and sought after. However, there are many other unknown ingredients used in hookahs like glycerin, honey, molasses, cocoa butter, etc.. Although the fruity flavors are very pleasing shisha has many other chemicals which are dangerous for physical bodies. With all that, be moderate and don’t overdo it, and you can be sure that you will be able to enjoy smoking hookah for a long time.
