Hookah

A hookah (Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा / حقّہ huqqa) is a single or multi-stemmed, often glass-based, water pipe device for smoking; originating in India, it gained fame in the Arab World when it traveled from Persia to Arabia. A hookah operates by water-filtration and indirect heat. It can be used for smoking many substances, such as herbal fruits and tobacco. Depending on locality, hookahs are known as other names, such as a shisha/sheesha, water pipe, nargeela/nargile/narghile/nargileh/narguilé, argeela/arghileh/arguilé, okka, qalyan/kalyan/ghalyan/ ghelyoon or gewat suckre. Many of these names are of Arab, Indian, Turkish, Uzbek, or Persian origin. Narghile (نارگيله) is from the Persian word nārgil (نارگیل) or "coconut", and in Sanskrit nārikela (नारीकेल) and it was made out of coconut shells. Shisha (شيشة) is from the Persian word shishe (شیشه, literally translated as glass and not bottle), and is primarily used for water pipes in Egypt and the Arab countries of the Gulf (such as Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia). Hashish (حشيش) is an Arabic word for grass (marijuana), which may have been another way of saying cannabis resin. Another source states, "In early Arabic texts, the term hashish referred not only to cannabis resin but also to the dried leaves or flower heads and sweetmeats made with them".

 Arghile or Narghile is the name most commonly used in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Albania,Greece, Israel, Bulgaria and Romania, though the initial "n" is often dropped in Arabic. Shisha is more commonly seen in Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. In Iran it is called ghalyoun or ghalyan (قليان) and in India and Pakistan it is referred to as huqqa (हुक़्क़ा حقّہ). The archaic form of this latter Indian name, hookah is most commonly used in English for historical reasons, as it was in India that large numbers of English-speakers first sampled the effects of the water pipe. William Hickey wrote in his Memoirs that shortly after his arrival in Calcutta in 1775: The most highly-dressed and splendid hookah was prepared for me. I tried it, but did not like it. As after several trials I still found it disagreeable, I with much gravity requested to know whether it was indispensably necessary that I should become a smoker, which was answered with equal gravity, 'Undoubtedly it is, for you might as well be out of the world as out of the fashion. Here everybody uses a hookah, and it is impossible to get on without'.....[I] have frequently heard men declare they would much rather be deprived of their dinner than their hookah.

Arab world
In the Arab world, social smoking is done with a single or double hose. When the smoker is finished, either the hose is placed back on the table signifying that it is free, or it is handed from one user to the next, folded back on itself so that the mouthpiece does not point at the person receiving it. Stories tell Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar thought of it as an insult but there are no official facts. Another tradition is that the receiver taps or slaps the giver on the back of the hand while taking it as a sign of respect or friendship.

In cafés and restaurants, however, it is rare for each smoker not to order an individual hookah, as the price is generally lower, ranging from $2 to $10.

Most cafés (called maqha&mdash; Arabic: مقهى, "coffeeshop") in the Middle East have hookahs available. Cafés are very widespread, and are amongst the main social gathering places in the Arab world (similar to the status pubs have in the UK).

Iran
In Iran, the hookah is known as a ghelyoon (Persian: قليان). It is similar in many ways to the Arabic hookah but has its own unique attributes. An example is the top part of the Hookah called 'sar' (Persian: سر=head) where the tobacco is placed and is bigger than the ones we see in Turkey. Also the major part of the hose is flexible and covered with soft silk or cloth while the Turkish make the wooden part as big as the flexible part.

There are mouthpieces called Amjid (امجید) that each person has his own personal one, usually made of wood or metal and decorated with valuable or other stones. Amjids are only used for their fancy look. However, all the Hookah Bars have plastic mouth-pieces.

Use of water pipes in Iran can be traced back to the Qajar period. In those days the hoses were made of sugar cane. Persians had a special tobacco called Khansar (خانسار, presumably name of the origin city). The charcoals would be put on the Khansar without foil. Khansar has less smoke than the normal tobacco.

The hookah was, until recently, served to all ages; Iranian officials have since passed a law forbidding its use by those under 14.

Turkey
In Turkey, hookah is smoked on a social basis, usually in one's home with guests or in a cafe with friends. Most cities have hookah cafes where hookah is offered with a non-alcoholic drink (mainly tea). This is mostly for health reasons rather than cultural reasons. Often people will smoke hookah after dinner as a replacement for cigarettes. In bigger cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Adana, restaurants may have dinner & hookah specials which include meal, beverage (alcoholic/non-alcoholic), Turkish coffee, and hookah.

In certain parts of the country, people use hookah cafes to watch popular TV shows, national sports games, etc. and smoke hookah to socialize.

Once the centre of Istanbul’s social and political life, the hookah is considered one of life’s great pleasures by the locals today.

Israel
In Israel, the hookah is prevalent among Middle Eastern Jewish immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Yemen (collectively known as Mizrahi Jews). Hookah use is also common in the Arab home where families will commonly smoke after a large meal or at a family gathering. Many Jewish families have also adopted this custom, although individual usage patterns vary according to culture heritage and custom. Hookahs are becoming increasingly popular within Israel particularly among tourists. Shops selling paraphernalia can be found on most high streets and markets. Most nightclubs also have hookahs. In 2005, due to an increase in use among youth, a campaign has been launched by The Israel Cancer Association warning against the hazards of hookah smoking, and the IDF has forbidden the use of hookahs by soldiers within its bases.

India
In the Indian subcontinent the hookah is becoming better known, and cafés and restaurants that offer it as a consumable are popular. The use of hookahs from ancient times in India was not only a custom, but a matter of prestige. Rich and landed classes would smoke hookahs. Tobacco is smoked in hookahs in many villages as per traditional customs. Smoking molasses in a hookah is now becoming popular amongst the youth in India. It is a growing trend amongst youngsters and adolescents. There are several chain clubs, Bars and coffee shops (such as Mocha) in India offering a variety of hookah.

The new trends emerging are that of non-tobacco hookahs with herbal flavours. Several modern restaurants are famous for this.

Pakistan
In Pakistan, hookahs have become very popular in the cosmopolitan cities. The Hookah or Sheesha craze hit Karachi and the rest of Pakistan following the opening of Damascus Restaurant in 1999. Many clubs and cafes are offering them and it has become quite popular amongst the youth and students in Pakistan. This form of smoking has become very popular for social gatherings, functions, and events. There are a large number of cafes, restaurants, and chill out places offering a variety of sheesha and hookahs.

Malaysia
Malaysia too has seen an increase in sheesha use and cafes offering sheesha pipes. In the Philippines, the popularity is vastly growing, in the capital's most cosmopolitan city, Makati; various high-end bars and clubs offer hookahs to patrons. In Afganistan, hookah has been popular, especially in Kabul, for some time. "Chillam", as is called the Afghan narghile.

Although hookah use has been common for hundreds of years and enjoyed by people of all ages, it has just begun to become a youth-oriented pastime in Asia in recent times. Hookahs are most popular with college students and teenagers, who may be underage and thus unable to purchase cigarettes.

Northeast Africa
In Northeast Africa, hookah, colloquially known as a hubbly bubbly, is popular amongst the area natives, and cultural population, where it is smoked in public areas and is most often found in bars or restaurants. However, the hookah is seeing increasing popularity with the increasing caucasion population. Hookah bars are relatively common amongst native villages and tourist destinations around Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, and the Canary Islands. Smoking is normally done at bars, at home, or in public spaces such as beaches and picnic sites. Most often the hookah is filled with cannabis, made from the flowers or leaves of Cannabis sativa.

Europe
In Spain, the use of the hookah has been recently increasing in popularity, and they are usually readily available at tea-oriented coffeehouses, called teterías in Spanish, which often are run by Arab immigrants or have some other sort of affinity with the east. Hookahs are usually sold at prices between €10 and €70, and hookah tobacco and charcoal is easily found in those same coffee houses, or at stores run by eastern immigrants. Immigrants and native Spanish alike enjoy this custom, and it is usually seen as a lighter way of smoking than cigarettes. Buying one's own tobacco and hookah is usually noticeably less expensive than ordering hookahs at a coffee house.

Hookahs are also becoming increasingly popular in Moscow and other Russian cities. Many bars employ a "hookah man" or "niam" which is commonly pronounced "ni-eem" (Rus. кальянщик tr. kal'yanshchik), often of middle-eastern appearance and wearing an approximation of Arab or Turkish costume, to bring the pipes to customers' tables and wrappings may be provided to each person at the table for hygiene reasons.

Hookahs are popular as well in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. All the youth hookah fashion looks the same way it looks in Russia.

Indian restaurants but are most commonly found in Lebanese restaurants and Egyptian-run "hubbly-bubbly" bars. Concentrations of these hookah establishments are often found in close proximity to University campuses, as on Rusholme's Curry Mile in Manchester or in Oxford, and they cater to a mixture of British and Middle-Eastern clientel amongst students. A ban on public smoking was enacted in Scotland in 2006, and a similar ban has taken effect in England on July 1st 2007. Hookah bars have since been closed, as there is a complete ban of smoking in enclosed public areas; however, some businesses have remained open, functioning as normal cafés.

Hookah smoking has also risen in popularity in Germany, particularly in Berlin and Cologne, where many hookah bars exist due in part to a relatively large Turkish population. Hookahs are also very easy to acquire. During the 2006 World Cup, many booths in the area outside of the Zoologischer Garten Bahnhof specialized in selling the water-pipes and flavored tobacco. In addition, many people create homemade hookahs due to the relative ease of construction and the high cost of a quality pipe. Hooka (locally called Shisha) bars are even commonly found in towns with just 100,000 inhabitants.

In Italy, hookah bars are still not so common, but their number is increasing, as hookah (usually known only as narghilè) smoking is currently gaining favor and seen as less dangerous and irritating for other nearby then cigarettes (yet, it is covered by the no smoke in public locals law if not for dedicated places or rooms). As a matter of note the italian government banned the selling of the usual hookah wet and fruits flavoured tobacco as it does not pass under the statal monopoly on tobaccos (Monopolio di Stato) and, more important to health, is not regulated by precise rules before selling, unlike the normal, dry tobacco, and being wet have actually more possibility of being of low quality, partially degraded or containing colonies of bacterias which could not be completly killed by ember's fire while smoking.

In Sweden, hookah smoking is on the rise. Cheap hookahs and hookah-related products, like tobacco and charcoal, are now available in the many kiosk-like businesses run by immigrants, mostly of middle-eastern origin, found in the larger cities. Hookahs are mostly used by teenagers and immigrants, but the use is slowly becoming more widespread. Hookah bars and similar establishments are still very rare though, in part due to anti-smoking laws which forbids smoking in restaurants and in public buildings.

In the Czech republic, hookah is relatively common in many tearooms (usually cost between 100 and 150 CZK). Hookash are usually sold in specialided orient-shops and tearooms at prices mostly between 500 and 2500 CZK. Local names for hookah are "šíša", "vodnice", "voďár", "vodní dýmka", etc …

Hookah ('vesipiip' in Estonian) has also gained major popularity in Estonia, where it has caused contoversy amongst the troubled parents. Still, you can hardly find any party or (youth) gathering without a hookah.

United States and Canada
In the United States and Canada, many cities, state/provincial and federal jurisdictions have in more recent years moved to ban smoking in public places. Though most jurisdictions, through the purchase of a special permit, allow hookah businesses to remain open to the public, others do not. This has caused many hookah lounges and bars to close their doors to the public. In many cases, hookah businesses have been able to remain in business by replacing their traditional, tobacco-based maasel with tobacco-free, herbal alternatives. In New York City, where there is a strong smoking ban, hookah bars have managed to remain open in Little Egypt, Astoria, and Queens. A reason that hookah bars are able to stay open even though there are smoking bans (such as in NYC) is because hookah bars are designated smoking locales. In such, a person attending a hookah bar knows and accepts this before entering. In a regular bar, for example, you may not want to smoke, but simply just drink.

There remains an attachment to Shisha bars/coffee shops in cities with large Arab/Middle-eastern populations such as Montreal in Canada. Hookah bars or cafés are showing up throughout the United States, especially near college campuses in cities with large Arab and Middle-Eastern populations.

Online Hookah Bar Directories database all the hookah bars in the country. Every year, more and more hookah bars emerge.

Mexico
In Mexico hookah bars have gained popularity in recent years, becoming a popular trend among young people. Some places are simply hookah cafes, while others are night-clubs offering hookah along with alcoholic beverages. They are often located at fashion zones like La Condesa or Santa Fe.

Components
Excluding grommets, a hookah is usually made of five components, four of which are essential for its operation

The bowl
Also known as the head of the hookah, the bowl is a container, usually made out of clay or marble, that holds the tobacco and coal during the smoking session.

Hose
The hose is a slender tube that allows the smoke to be drawn.

Body, Gasket, Valve
The body of the hookah is a hollow tube with a gasket at its bottom. The gasket itself has at least one opening for the hose. The gasket seals the connection of the body of the hookah with the water jar. The gasket may have one more opening with a valve in it for clearing the smoke from the water jar not via the hose.

Water jar
Placed at the bottom of the hookah, the water jar is a container which the smoke from the tobacco passes through before it reaches the hose. By passing through water, the smoke gains moisture. This makes inhaling the smoke of the hookah easier than a cigarette's. Also the water jar allegedly functions as a filter for the smoke. The level of the water has to be higher than the lowest point of the body's tube in order for the smoke to pass through it. Liquids other than water may be added, such as a strong mixture of alcohol and/or fruit juice.

The plate
The plate is usually just below the bowl and is used for "dead" coals from previous smoking sessions. It is not vital for the operation of the hookah.

Grommets
Grommets in a hookah are usually placed between the bowl and the body, the body's gasket and the water jar and between the body and the hose.

Operation
The jar at the bottom of the hookah is filled with water sufficient to submerge a few centimeters of the body tube, which is sealed tightly to it. Tobacco is placed inside the bowl at the top of the hookah and a burning charcoal is placed on top of the tobacco. Some cultures cover the bowl with perforated tin foil to separate the coal and the tobacco, which minimizes inhalation of coal ash with the smoke. When one inhales via the hose, air is pulled through the coal and into the bowl. The air, hot from the charcoal, roasts, not burns, the tobacco, producing smoke. This smoke passes down through the body tube, which extends into the water in the jar. It bubbles up through the water and fills the top part of the jar, to which the hose is attached. When a smoker inhales from the hose, smoke passes into the lungs, and the change in pressure in the jar pulls more air through the charcoal, continuing the process. The hookah's components must be sealed tightly with grommets, or air which does not flow through the coal will dilute the smoke.

Shisha
Tobamel A sweet substance smoked in a hookah pipe, usually containing tobacco. Tobamel is legal in Canada and the United States. Due to its nicotine content, those who smoke it often experience a mild stimulating effect. Nicotine is the addictive drug also found in cigarrettes, cigars, and other such smoke related things.

Maʿasel
Maʿasel, معسل, (as there are many ways of transliterating Arabic, the transliterated spelling of the word may vary), arabic for, literally, honeyed, and is the name the "shisha tobacco" is labeled as by the arabic producers like Egyptian based Nakhla Tobacco. Some arabs are mildly offended when you call it anything else.

Tumbâk
Tumbâk is word of Turkish origin and refers simply to tobacco, not necessarily flavored or sweetened. The Persian word tumbeki and the Hindi/Urdu word Tumbako are similar.

Jurâk
Jurâk, mainly of Indian origin, might be considered as an intermediate substance between traditional sweetened tobaccos and the fruity hookah of modern times. The term applies both to a tobacco mixture that includes fruits or aromatic oils as well as tobacco that is just sweetened.

Flavours
Molasses tobacco is sold in a variety of flavours. Some of the flavours in which it is available are derived from the addition of artificial flavourings; other manufacturers shun these. A few of the flavours are based upon the scent of flowers. Flavours include vanilla, coconut, rose, honey, strawberry, watermelon, mint, cherry, orange, apple, apricot, chocolate, coffee, grape, peach, chocolate, cola, gum, etc.

The Double-Apple (Persian:دوسیب,Do-Sib) is also a very popular flavour in the middle-east by the every day hookah-smokers because of the strength. But most two-apple tobacco seen in the U.S. stores are just apple flavour and aren't as strong.

Zaghloul is often served with a broken coal mixed into the hookah itself.

Merchandising
Some notable brands of flavored tobacco from include: Al Amir, Hookafina, Abajûra, El-bâshâ, El-'Esfahâny, En-nakhla, Ibyâry, Shîh 'el-beled, Zeglûl. All of these are Egyptian except for Shîh 'el-beled which is Tunisian and Serbetli wich is Turkish.

This is in addition to Bahraini molasses such as Bahraini Apple (done by local firms, and adopted by huge international hookah molasses firms such as Al Nakhla as well), and Bahraini Zeglul, and UAE Based Al Fakher molasses, which is often softer in taste than the Egyptian molasses. Today there are also numerous varieties produced in the West with more coming to market each year.

Besides being sold in little packets as is rolling tobacco, hookah is also sold in cardboard boxes and plastic jars. Packaging is generally illustrated with bright floral motifs, fruit, lush gardens and romantic images of sultans or pashas.

The relative proportions of tobacco, treacle, fruits and spices, on average, 30%, 50% and 20% respectively. The substance is generally valid for two years; boxes usually indicate the production date. Health warnings about lung cancer risks and cardiovascular disease appear on these products similar to other tobacco products elsewhere in the world.

Some manufacturers like Soex produce tobacco-free flavored herbal blends and market these as shisha as well. These herbal blends typically advertise themselves as having no tar and nicotine, thus a safer alternative that is still enjoyable. Other Distributors provide tobacco-based flavored blends as well as a variety of hookahs.

Health benefits and risks


Research suggests that a session of hookah tobacco smoking (tobacco molasses) which lasts 45 minutes delivers slightly more tar and carbon monoxide (around 5-10%) than a packet of cigarettes. This study has, however, come under criticism for using unrealistically high temperatures for the tobacco (600-650 degrees C) and using arbitrary figures for tar filtration rates. This could possibly have skewed results, as the carcinogenic and toxin levels of smoke increases dramatically with temperature (Wynder 1958). Common practice is to keep temperatures to degrees which do not "char" the hookah; that is within a temperature range of 100-150 C. (Chaouachi K: Patologie associate all'uso del narghile). The effects of these lower temperatures on tar are inconclusive, though Chaouachi indicates the tar would be less harmful.

Some hookah tobaccos claim to contain 0.0% Tar. This is highly misleading since the tar is not contained in the tobacco but is produced when it is burned. All tobaccos produce tars when burned. The tar numbers listed on cigarette packs are obtained from burning the cigarette in a controlled way and analyzing the resulting smoke.

However research has indicated that the use of the hookah may reduce comparative cancer risks, though such studies are not conclusive (Hoffman, Rakower, Salem 1983 and 90, Gupta Dheeraj 2001, Tandon 1995, Lubin 1992, Hazelton 2001, Stirling 1979). The levels of carbon monoxide produced during a hookah session varies widely depending on the type of coal used. Japanese charcoals are thought to produce lower amounts of carbon monoxide. However there is a notable difference in areas of carbon monoxide absorption, in that while cigarettes have a notable effect on the small respiratory tracts rather, shisha smoking mostly affects the major airways (Bakir 1991, Kiter). This means a lessened FEV vs FEV1/FVC ratio compared to cigarettes, which is believed to be less harmful for the airways long-term. However, it should not be considered as a "safe" alternative to common cigarette smoking.

A report released in 2005 by WHO (World Health Organization) claimed to have researched the effects of water-pipe smoking.

A popular article by K Chaouachi, a French researcher who has been studying hookah usage and effects throughout the world since 1997, highlighted the mistakes and errors made by the WHO TobReg in its report. The WHO TobReg's report is used in a lot of media articles about hookah smoking and its effects. Chaouachi also authored a book in 2007 which offers a complete look at data collected from his studies on hookahs and hookah users.

Hookahs can also be smoked with herbal flavours. These contain Sugar Cane Bagasse with no tobacco, nicotine or tar. The popular brands are Soex, Highlife & Black Label. This new method of smoking is aimed at replacing tobacco and its health effects. Therefore no research or discovered health risks have been conducted on herbal flavous. There has been a study that claims that this could be safer than traditional tobacco used in hookahs

Many articles suggest that there is simply not enough research to provide answers to determine the effects of hookah smoking. Research is under way by Fogarty International Center-funded Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies, Egyptian Smoking Prevention Research Institute, Research for International Tobacco Control-funded Tobacco Prevention and Control Research Group at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon...