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Week 4 [06.11-12.11] – Middle East chill out ways – Hookah


Currently when someone thinks of the Middle East,  he or she might not have the best opinion or the brightest image of it. That of course is a fault of constant wars, acts of terrorism and controversial (for European people) laws.
But…the Middle East has also brought us much good. One of Middle Eastern inventions is Hookah. Also known as shisha (pol. szisza), narghile,  hubbly-bubbly and more, hookah is a water pipe. It consists of several parts. A glass base (commonly called a jug), a stem, a hose, a tray (also known as a plate), and a bowl. There are also rubber grommets that prevent unwanted air to get inside hookah and to make some of the connections firm.

(Dissasembled and assembled hookah)

From the pictures many would believe that preparing shisha is complicated, in reality though it’s quite simple. Here’s how to do it:
1.      Pour some liquid into the jug. Not too much, just so that the stem submerges for 2-3 centimeters.
2.      Connect the stem with the jug and put the plate on top of the stem.
3.      Put some stuff which you would like to smoke into the bowl.
4.      Wrap the bowl with foil so that the upper part is sealed and make some holes in cylindrical fashion using a fork/toothpick or something small and with piercing abilities.
5.      Put the bowl on top of the stem, sealing the stem completely.
6.      Connect the hose, light the coal and put it on the bowl.


(Fourth step of preparations. Almost done…)

You might wonder what liquid can be used in shisha. Well most commonly it’s just cold water (preferably with ice cubes to make the smoke more dense) but it can also be milk, which makes the smoke denser and whiter. You can also use vodka but it can get you drunk quite fast.

(Prepared tobacco inside the bowl)


But hey…What goes inside the bowl?
Well. Most commonly wet tobacco. It’s tobacco covered in flavored molasses. Amongst them are such flavors as apple, coconut, mint, citrus and more which bring pleasant taste and smell. But you can also smoke it in a non-nicotine ways such as stones or simple molasses. Of course if you have something else that you can smoke, you may put it in.

(Hookah flavoured tobaccos and non-nicotine Stones in molasses)

There also is a matter when to smoke. A simple answer would be whenever you want. Still it’s at least 30 minutes of smoking so I believe that it’s best to smoke it with someone or in a group of people. From my own experience I can tell that hookah at a party is a great attraction, and many great stories were and are going to be told smoking it.
Well there are, as always, minuses. Like cleaning. Washing it is a long process, because you have to clean every nook and cranny of hose, bowl, jug and stem. People not used to nicotine can get sick and those breathing too deeply may hyperventilate.

There is also one matter left… How to smoke. Simply. Just breathe in through the hose. Simple as that. As you do it, you might want to try speaking to notice a fun effect.

(Ready? Set? SMOKE :D )


And now for the questions:

  1. Having the chance, would you or would you not try smoking hookah and why?
  2. Do you believe that smoking hookah is a good form of spending time and/or bringing people together?
  3. Should minors be able to smoke hookah or not? And why?

Comments

Unknown said…
First time i tried it when i was 16. I tought its something like cigarette but much stronger, of course i was wrong. Taste was really good and intense. Now we are smoking hookah in pubs or at home. I dont have one but my friends do. I think that it can bring people together, you can talk, smoke and feel nice smell. For me minors should be able to smoke hookah because it's nothing wrong with it. It's not alcohol. Like i said i tried when i was 16 and i dont regret it.
Unknown said…
Do you prefer smoking at home or in pubs, also do you know any interesting tobacco mixes? I'm asking because i'm currently searching for new flavours :D
Alicja said…
Nice!

I bought my hookah a few years ago when I studied in the UK. It was popular there with many Middle Eastern grocery stores selling it. I remember I liked rose and orange flavored molasses.

However, my friends preferred either cigarettes or "healthy living" and I had problems organizing a group to enjoy it with. To my even greater disappointment, all Middle Eastern students I met upon hearing about hookah smoking displayed contempt replying that they did not like it, because it made them sick :) So I ended up giving my hookah away to my mother who now enjoys it with her friends.

Should minors be allowed to smoke hookah? I am against regulations, but one should be smart. It depends what you smoke in it :)
Filip Sawicki said…
What a surprise with that subject, the funny thing is that I have recently bought my friend a hookah as a gift to celebrate his new apartment. So, the moment he got it we started preparing it for the first time. It was a really painful process of getting things done correctly as every tutorial on YouTube shows each part of assembling differently. To this date we still haven’t found out what we were doing wrong. Nevertheless, we achieved some progress. It started to smoke a bit and even could taste some flavour (not just coal). Right now, our best bets are that either tobacco or coal cubes are of a poor quality.
Unknown said…
It's a shame that you gave your hookah away. True sometimes organizing a group to smoke might be troublesome. I myself remember that at first only 3 people smoke with me. The biggest surprise was my best friend who is a non-smoker, decided to give it a try and we're smoking from that time even though he's against cigarettes.
About the Middle Eastern guys. It's possible that they have had different way of smoking in mind. back from where hookah originates, they are putting coal directly onto the tobacco. It's possible that this simple difference might have something to do with their decision.
Unknown said…
I'm glad to hear that hookah is spreading. About the taste.
It might be tobacco or coals that are at fault.
Remember to use right tobbaco type with the right bowl. There are two types of tobacco: wet and dry.
They differ in amount of molases used in production, which you can easily check. if it's flowing with molases you have a wet tobacco and you need a special bowl, that will prevent the molases from flowing down the stem. Of course if tabacco is of low quality then naturally the taste is bad. Same thing goes with coals, but there is another catch. If you are using selfigniting coals, the taste might be worse than if you had used normal coals. Also these normal coals are better because they can have flavour. For example i have found once coals that had coconut flavour.
Important part is how much coals you put on the bowl. Too many and you will taste coal.
What you also might want to try is this:
First wrap the bowl with foil once.
Then make a 1cm wide ring with a diameter of your bowland put it on the foil.
THEN wrap the bowl with ring on top of it again and smoke.
Hopefully some of this will help you.
Tomasz Morawski said…
Very interesting article written in how-to style :)
I tried smoking shisha once but I didn't really like it because I'm not really a smoker type. Maybe it was fault of the flavor I chose, who knows.
Smoking hookah may be good time to spend time but only if all of your friends actually smoke. For me a beer or two is a better way to have fun with other people.
I think there's nothing wrong with minors smoking shisha as long as it's controlled by their parents and they aren't using any uncommon ingredient :)
Unknown said…
I think that hookah is more harmful to health than cigarettes and Smoking hookah is not a good form of time and/or associations of people, because it will lead to the fact that everyone will then smoke where they wants and say that 'smoking hookah is better than cigarettes'
'Should minors be able to smoke hookah or not? And why?' No!
Today I saw how mb 14 or 16 years old kid was smoking cigarettes . What do u think if someone will say him that hookah better? Puf...
Unknown said…
I consider that smoking either hookah or traditional cigarettes is harmful for my health, so I don't like to try it.
Actually, hookah is a thing, which brings people togather and it's known the tradition of smoking has been widespread at the Middle East since the Ottoman period. I have no objections to people, who like spend their spare time smoking hookah, because it's relaxing and much better that alcohol.
To my opinion, smoking hookah should be forbidden for minors because they're not aware of the consequences of smoking and it may be harmful for their lungs.
Unknown said…
Twice in my life I smoked shisha. I do not like to smoke or anything like that. In my opinion smoking a pipe is not a good occupation because we harm our health so categorically say no. Minors should not smoke pipes. I wouldn't like my child to smoke a water pipe at age 16
Magdalena Popek said…
I smoked hookah a couple of times, but only non-nicotine ones. I find it quite relaxing actually. The first time was in high school and we ended up burning a small hole in a table as the coal fell down on it (my friend's parents were definitely not happy about it). I think it was a nice way of spending time with friends. You can sit together, chill and talk. It's as good as all other ways of spending time with others.
I think minors should not be able to smoke hookah as I just don't find it neccessary for them to do it to have fun. There are so many other ways of spending time and having fun with friends. And we can't say that "oh, children do illigal things anyway, so why make it illegal for them?".
Jakub Lisicki said…
I smoke hookay a couple of times, but not recently. It's really relaxing, smells and tastes good. It's also a great way of bringing people together and spending some time with them. It's not alcohol, so we don't get tipsy or drunk, it's just a normal talk. I don't think it's particularly healthy, but many things people do when out are not, even drinking.
I think that minors shouldn't be allowed to smoke tobacco-filled hookah, but I also don't see any problem with them smoking non-tobacco fillings on rocks.
I tried smoking hookah once and I enjoyed it. And I definitiely have to do it again. The smoke is nice, gentle and enjoable.
In my opinion smoking hookah is a good way of spending time with friends. 30mins of just sitting close to your friends, enjoying the smoking process and beeeing and talking with your friends.
Despite that I don't see a big harm in smoking hookah I wouldn't allow minors to smoke it.
I smoke hookah from time to time, usually when I meet with my friends and we just want to talk peacefully. I think that it brings people together in some way, it’s relaxing peaceful way to spend time with your friends, what is almost impossible in some other bar or club. I think that minors should not be able to smoke hookah, it’s still tobacco. If they want to do it, I’m sure they will, but we shouldn’t deregulate it.
Unknown said…
Unfortunately I didn't have my own hookah. My first time with this equipment was a long time ago. Probably ten years ago. I would like to repeat it again in the near future. Great thing is that we can choose the best taste for us, because there are a lot of them on market. And... we can taste them all :)

Yes I think smoking hookah is a good and original form of spending time with friends. However, we should be careful to not get addicted. In the Arab countries smoking hookah with friends is very popular.

In my opinion minors shouldn't be able to smoke hookah. But it depends of what you smoke. Minors often are not aware od the consequences of doing that. This can lead to their addiction which can be dangerous to their health now and in the future.
Unknown said…
Yep, tried it, really enjoyed it. There is something special about it, intended to somke it with your friends in a cozy place just chilling, relaxing after a stressful week. It doesn't dull your mind as much as beer, is gentler that traditional coffin nail, can taste great and the smoke is fun. So yeah, it's great in terms of bringing people and together time.
I think minors should not be allowed to smoke hookah, it's still tobacco. Like alcohol it should stay forbidden for underage.
Unknown said…
Okay. But let's confront some prices. How much does a single pack of cigarettes costs? About 10-15 zł right? Easily accessable and smokable right away. While hookah (without tobacco) prices come from 30 up to hundreds of zlotys. But that's not all. Smallest pack of tobacco currently costs 30 zł as well. And you have to buy coal with that too. So let's say that such minors as you described would like to buy it. Sure no prob. 70 zł and you can go ahead. BUT. First tries may be quite troublesome as they have no experience wit it and as you could read from comments earlier tutorials are not always helpful. Second comes the ceremony (yes i call it a ceremony) of preparing. It takes time. I don't believe that kids these days (old man mode ON)are patient enough. Same goes with cleaning. if they won't clean it then it will soon break but cleaning can be a pain in the ass. There are also costs of repair and costs of changing equipment such as grommets (1-2 zł but there are at least two of those) and hoses which naturally wear off.
Unknown said…
I'm quite happy that you liked the article (especially that all of these photos and infos are mine xD). About the flavour do you remember what was it?
Unknown said…
You said that you smoked a non-nicotine hookah right? Of course it's not a necessity for minors and i respect your word but that last sentences part "oh, children do illigal things anyway, so why make it illegal for them?"
Umm... okay i agree that giving tobacco to children is bad (sound's kinda plain and obvious doesn't it?) but still it doesn't have to be illegal riiiiight? Non-nicotine means no tobacco. Not illegal anymore. Problem solved.Of course there's still that part about controlling that no tobacco shows up, but that's another subject xD
Unknown said…
No offence but it's qute possible that our children (including yours if you'll have them) will do things behind our backs and you won't even know it xD. Many of these might be worse than smoking you know? Still i respect your word. But allow me to ask you one question. You live in a city covered in smog. Do you really believe that once in a time hookah smoking would impact your health more than everyday constant breathing of polluted air?
Unknown said…
And what if they are aware? And know about it more than you? And can prove it? Would you still disagree? :D
Unknown said…
i totally agree with the relaxingafter a stressful week (especially with some arabian music)though again i must ask:
Okay tobacco for kids is meh. Then what about non-tobacco smoking?
Unknown said…
Nice answer, though i have a question about that last part. Aree yousure that you would be able to controll their smoking? Are you certain that during your absence (let's say you are in a delegation or something) they won't buy and smoke tobacco?
Andrzej Gulak said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
Where have you been smoking in a shisha bar or at home? I'm also curious about the atmosphere. have you played some music or just sat in silence and talked?
Unknown said…
Define from time to time xD. I smoke once per month with my friends (up to 10 people). Sometimes we smoke tobacco sometimes not. And that's where my question strikes again. You said no to tobacco. And what about non-nicotine smoking? Are you still against? If yes then why?
Unknown said…
About the tastes. While there are many there are some strange flavours like mojito or bubblegum. These are flavours that I am afraid of xD Are there any flavours you would be afraid of?
Vyvyan said…
I'm smoking hookah regularly. And it always is a pleasure. It's specific form of spending time with my friends while we are talking about our worries, about future or past, telling the stories etc.
It's also filling the gaps between the alcohol :D.
I think that minor should be able to smoke. It's definitely healthier than cigaretts - because we can use non-tobacco fillings.
Unknown said…
I wouldn't smoke Hookah. As the article says it consists nicotite. I don't want to hiperventilate or get sick, because I'm not used to nicotine. But smoking hookas has also pros. It is good at partys. I can integrate better by doing something else than just speaking. I think minors shouldn't smoke hookah, beacuse it can conatain nicotine. But those with non-nicotine insides could be smoked.
Unknown said…
Of course being mindful of others is important and that's why before every meeting i'm asking people two questions.
Can i bring hookah?
If i can, then who will smoke? :D
Still don't group driving with alcohol and tobacco okay? Categoty B1 allows 16 year old kids drive a car in poland.
Besides if you group it with smoking and drinking you indirectly are saying that it is hazardous for them. Which is wrong.
Unknown said…
Trust me when i say it: if you smoke hookah in a group at least of four, your chances of hiperventilating are low. Especially if one of your co-smokers likes to hold on to a hose a bit longer ;)
Unknown said…
What kind of stories tend to be told during your times of smoking?
Also which flavour is your favourite?
Unknown said…
I smoked it some long time ago, remember it as nice and fun way of spending free time.
If there are non-nicotine fillings then what's the problem with minors? Of course our lovely government would say something like "It encourages people to smoking and introduces smoking habits", but its all lies. If a kid wants to smoke, he/she will find a way to get the "illegal cigs", meh- even adults find their own ways of getting "toll-free, grassy russian cigarettes" if they can't afford the normal ones...
Unknown said…
If it's non-tobacco, non-harmful then it's just a different kind of toy for kids. But if it's harmful you gotta play by the rules kid and stay away until there is some more common sense in your head (measuring it by the age is tricky btw).
I smoke hookah for a long time, not every day obviously but quite often. Furthermore, I worked in "hookah bar" for a long time. I think, smoking hookah isn't the worst scenario of spending time with friends, majority of hookah places have cozy atmosphere which will help everyone to chill. Should minors be able to smoke hookah ? Well, first time when I smoked hookah I was 16, but still, I consider that you have to be at least 18 years old to smoke it, it's not so harmful like cigarettes , but still bad for your health , for really young teens especially.
Unknown said…
I smoked Hookah some time ago. Always After that I had a headache . For me there is no pleasure in it. But I think that it is a good idea to spend time with friends for example in a bar. I think that minors shouldn't smoke Hookah. It's the same as cigarettes. Some time ago my father was addicted but he quit.
Unknown said…
I used to live in Istanbul with my family, this is where our hookah story has started. One day we have just got to a hookah.. place? I don't know hoe to call it. During the day it was a carpet market, but in the evening people just came there to smoke hookah and to drink tea or coffee. In a muslim country it is a good alternative to drinking beer, for example. People get together to chat and relax after the hard working day, th atmosphere is lounge and very friendly. We was so in love with that ritual, that we bought our own hookah, and then took it back to our country. Nobody thought of the harm it could cause, because - come on, people smoke it every day... When hookah bars have became popular, I didn't like it, the atmosphere wasn't authentic and the quality of the tobacco was poor. I don't even remember, how we have started to smoke it at home, but now when I googled how harmful it is I am just shocked how could we spend so many evenings with this thing:)
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