Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Hookah - Safer Smoking

By John McCree


Used for smoking flavorful tobacco, a hookah is device that purifies smoke through a water basin prior to inhalation. The components of a hookah are relatively basic and straightforward, but the art of making hookahs has been perfected over hundreds of years around the Middle East, and the highest quality devices are still produced in this region.

Parts

The end of the body is immersed in a water jar through which the smoke produced by burning tobacco passes. The smoke is kept in an air chamber above the water after it is purified by the water. One more positive side effect of the smoke passing through the water is that it is chilled to a temperature more comfortable for the lungs. The hose can be seen in the picture on the top left of water jar. It isn't fully represented here, but the hose normally extends 1 or more meters. When the smoker puffs on the hose, the purified smoke exits the air chamber and is inhaled by the smoker from the hose. The end result is an extremely satisfying, aromatic, thick, and clean smoke exhaled by the smoker. Hookahs are usually smoked in group settings where the smokers can enjoy the company of their family or friends.

What Is the Smoke Made of?

Generally hookahs are used to smoke shisha, which is flavored tobacco. Modern-day shisha consists of some or all of the following: tobacco, treacle (uncrystallized syrup produced in refining sugar), honey, sugar, molasses, glycerin, nicotine, dried fruit and distilled water.

Shisha is generally fruit flavor based. But, nowadays most of the well-known producers are experimenting with off-shoots of these fruity flavors, for example Peaches 'n Cream, or Banana Split.

Adding flavor to tobacco during production has become easy and now there are a range of different flavors. Unique flavors are made because essentially every ingredient can be mixed in dried, tobacco, glycerin and sweetener.

What is The Source of Hookahs?

The word "hookah" is derived from the Indian "huqqa", a word that originated around the 1500's when it was first introduced by a Persian physician, Abul-Fath Gilani. After growing occupied with the health risks of smoking, he designed a system whereby he passed the smoke by using a water basin to be able to 'purify' it. It is contended, though, that the hookah already existed in other areas of Persia, so the exact origin is not clear. Anyway, hookah began to gain acceptance in the close by lands of Pakistan and Iran from where it came to Turkey and Lebanon. When the hookah reached Turkey, its fame increased in the Turkish elite, and it quickly spread through Lebanon and Syria to the rest of the Middle East and into northern Africa. Nowadays, it is being used in nearly every country of the globe.

As it journeyed from Persia to the remaining globe, the hookah gained a lot of names.

Nargile (also pronounced Argilee) - used in a lot of Mediterranean nations from Italy to Turkey to Israel

Narguile - used in Spain

Lula (or lulava) - used in Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina

Sheesha - used in northern African and Arab nations

Qalyan - used in Iran

Karim Khan - used in Russia, Belarus

Chillim - used in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan

Huqqa - used in India and Pakistan

Gudugudaa - used in Maldives

Marra Pipe - used in the UK

Where Can You Purchase A Hookah?

like several consumer products in the 21st century, hookahs can be purchased in-person or on the internet. Due to the popularity of hookah, hookah stores and hookah bars have grown in the U.S. If you live in or near a more populated urban setting or college town, your odds of getting a hookah shop are much better. Hookahs are gaining popularity in the U.S., but they are not as popular here as in the Persian Gulf.

If your alternatives are limited, or you just prefer the ease of shopping on the web, there are also a number of resources available to assist you to choose your hookah pipe and shisha tobacco.

What Are The Health Hazards Here?

The controversy rages on about whether hookah smoking is safer than cigarette smoking. Inhaling just about any smoke is harmful for lungs but the people in favor of hookah say that the smoke is cleaner and as compared to the smoke of a cigarette. On the flip side, the people against hookah mention that it has all the dangerous and cancer causing chemicals used in cigarettes. One more argument is that hookah smoking sessions last 60 minutes or longer, so the amount of smoke inhaled is way greater than cigarette smoking. On the other hand hookah appears to be less addictive in comparison with cigarettes.




About the Author:



No comments: