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First off, let me say this stuff is awesome... How many college students actually smoke tobacco using hookahs? More importantly, for a person who smokes cigarettes socially (like me), is a hookah more/less/as harmful than cigarettes.

Binghamton '08

By Kriskrass (Kriskrass) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 02:27 am: Edit

if you inhale im sure its just as bad on the lungs and the "flavors" i would think just add to the assortment of fine chemicals.

By Icarus (Icarus) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 03:11 am: Edit

Yeah - inhaling anything other than air into your lungs = not good.

By Gfjigi (Gfjigi) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 03:36 am: Edit

what a coincidence, i just smoked watermelon tonight and it was great!
all of you should try it at least once, and it's definitely less harmful than cigarettes cuz i don't believe that there is much nicotine in it, so you can't get addicted to it

By Bz_Cp (Bz_Cp) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 04:47 am: Edit

no man, smoking out of a water bong is less harmful for u than a joint. Water cleanse the smoke!!! Oh and try ice water, it taste and feels nice n cool.

By Dg5052 (Dg5052) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 07:04 am: Edit

Don't delude yourselves, kids--smoking tobacco through a hookah is every bit as bad for you as smoking cigarettes--and just as addictive. There was an article about this recently in a national magazine--probably TIME, because that's what I read. Please--do some research online before you get hooked (pun intended)--if you've managed not to smoke cigarettes up until now, don't ruin your streak by getting addicted to tobacco in this way.

By Poison_Ivy (Poison_Ivy) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 08:32 am: Edit

OH! Hookahs! Those are soooo sooo pretty. The Shisha tobacco looks good too. It's cheap too! I swear when I'm 18 I'm buying a set. Yes it true there is no safe cigarettes but hookahs are actually less dangerous than plain cigarettes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A987825

By Alongfortheride (Alongfortheride) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 09:06 am: Edit

I'm with Icarus and Kriskrass on this one. You're lungs are made to breath air - which should be cleaner than it is. Our generation called hookahs Turkish water pipes. If the tobacco was less addictive and better for you, don't you think we'd know it by now? My parents generation took up smoking, often with their doctor's blessing to "calm nerves", etc. Now, they're suffering and dying from smoking related illness. Less addictive? Come on. Bottom line is it's tobacco and tobacco is bad for you.

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 10:25 am: Edit

I don't know what a hookah is

By Golfergirl08 (Golfergirl08) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 01:58 pm: Edit

I don't know what a hookah is either. I can't stand any form of smoking and I don't understand why people do it. It just doesn't make sense. Why damage your body for something that makes you smell horrible and makes your teeth yellow? Gross.

By Limon (Limon) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 03:31 pm: Edit

There's a great shisha place in the city I hang out at sometimes. I don't really like shisha, they've been watering down the flavours more and more so you can barely taste anything, and mostly it just leaves your throat feeling hoarse (in other words, terrible). It's also insanely cheap, and you can sit around for hours with one pipe and get really good tea and Indian bread for next to nothing.

(You needed to know this.)

I think the only good part about shisha is being able to blow smoke rings.

By Poison_Ivy (Poison_Ivy) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 03:34 pm: Edit

^^
Hookah is different, if only you knew...

Melon is good. If you go to shisha places though to smoke, do it occasionally. Take an hour drag once a month or something. Don't do it everyday.

By Gfjigi (Gfjigi) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 04:42 pm: Edit

indian bread? it's middle eastern

By Irchik13 (Irchik13) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 05:10 pm: Edit

Honestly, if you smoke cigarettes once in a while, you'll be fine. Same goes for hookah. It's the perfect alternative. You get a slight high/buzz for 5 min, and then you're good to go.

By Clickspring (Clickspring) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 07:46 pm: Edit

Smoking a hookah is less harmful than cigs because the smoke passes through water in the hookah which filters out a lot of the bad stuff. I go to the University of Illinois, and hookahs are popular here. We even have many hookah cafes. Enjoy!

By Ledzeppelin1000 (Ledzeppelin1000) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 10:51 pm: Edit

alright people here are the facts, hooka is pure tobaco, minor parts with part fruit or something like it, dipped in mollasses, there is nothing added to the tobaco and since it passses through the ultimate hooka filter and the water, 99% of tar and carcinogens are left behind, so all in all, it is perfectly fine with relative few side effects. want some logical proof, when you smoke and do a deep inhale, no matter what type of virgin lungs you have, you wont caugh, and the place in the city is called yalta, there are a few other places around it too, too expensive though

By Gfjigi (Gfjigi) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 11:09 pm: Edit

i've read otherwise

the reason why you don't cought isn't because it's good for you, it's because the water cools down the smoke so it doesn't burn your lungs like cigarette smoke does

By Sdsumystic (Sdsumystic) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 11:45 pm: Edit

By Gfjigi (Gfjigi) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 04:42 pm: Edit

indian bread? it's middle eastern

Gfjigi- Just where do you think India is? In case you didn't know it's right next to Pakistan.

By Jl87d (Jl87d) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 01:28 am: Edit

Ah I'm not condoning the use of tabaco or anything, but this hookah thing does sound less harmful. Mind you I'm no expert. Most of the problems caused by cigarets, and chew are caused by the other chemical ingredints, not tabaco it self. If this hookah thing does infact use pretty much pure tobaco it shouldn't be as harmful.

But why would you use it? I could more easily understand the use of cigarets than this. This you have to go out of your way use. I doubt you'd be pressured in to it, I mean they're not very acceseble are they? Although it MAY not be that bad for you, it's still not good for you. At best it is a waste of time. So why would you even start?

By Awesome (Awesome) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 02:16 am: Edit

Sdusmystic and others,

Isn't India not a part of the middle east? I am middle eastern myself, and I believe we do not consider them like us.

By Awesome (Awesome) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 02:18 am: Edit

Jl87d,

We smoke hookah because it tastes (or smells?) gooooooooood, whereas cigarettes are just nasty. Maybe you should try it.

By the way, I haven't tried "American" hookah yet. I've only tried the ones down in the middle east (the originals, baby).

By Bunmushroom (Bunmushroom) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 02:26 am: Edit

Another reason why it is popular is because the hookas can be really beautiful. My cousin came back from a trip in europe and israel, and in Israel, purchased this really nice hooka. It isnt just a pipe, but a piece of art/furniture.

By Gfjigi (Gfjigi) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 03:08 am: Edit

sydsumistic, you obviously don't know what middle eastern means, africa is practically right next to europe but that doesn't mean africans are europeans.

The culture of a country like syria or turkey is completely different than that of India's.
And I'm pretty sure that hookahs did not originate in India.

By Jl87d (Jl87d) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 03:48 am: Edit

Gfjigi, I very much agree. The Hindu culture is very diffrent from the Islamic culture. Which is more or less the middle east.

By Jl87d (Jl87d) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 03:59 am: Edit

And lets face it, this question was going to come up sooner or later, so let me just ask it.


The hookah can be used to smoke other types of leafy plants can't it?(Savy?) I mean by the way it's been described so far, it just sounds like a fancy, well... Bong. Is it considered to be paraphernalia by some universities?

By Gfjigi (Gfjigi) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 05:47 am: Edit

haha yeah well we're just talking about flavored tobacco right here in this thread =)

http://www.ucsbdailynexus.com/news/2003/5174.html

guess not

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 09:22 am: Edit

at my daughters college one dorm has a hookah on the porch. I imagine they use it ( in the spirit of scientific research of course)

By Limon (Limon) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 11:17 am: Edit

I said it was Indian bread because they serve Indian bread, regardless of shisha's origin.

This site says it was around in India before the rest of the Middle East anyway:
http://www.alshindagah.com/julaug2003/origin.html

What's the difference between shisha and hookah? I looked quickly online and they seem to be the same thing (and the pipes look the same).

By Alongfortheride (Alongfortheride) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 12:14 pm: Edit

People who want to smoke, whether it is from a hookah or not, will continue until their dying breath to defend it and their right to do it. Even after the debate started on the peoples right to breath smoke free air vs. the peoples right to fill it with smoke, facts concerning the deadliness of tobacco continued to pour in. Yet, cigar bars became popular. Now, I see the same with hookah cafe's. I know that I won't change your mind about the healthiness of it, so go ahead, enjoy yourself. I won't be in a hookah cafe for you to blow smoke in my direction.

By Poison_Ivy (Poison_Ivy) on Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 03:15 pm: Edit

Shisha is the main word for the type of tobacco.

By Awesome (Awesome) on Friday, September 10, 2004 - 12:12 am: Edit

Shisha is what they call hookah in the middle east.

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Friday, September 10, 2004 - 12:35 am: Edit

is someone going to explain what the hell hookah is

By Sdsumystic (Sdsumystic) on Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 03:13 am: Edit

The middle east is not entirely Islamic. If you are going to stress the point why don't you just find out the country it originates from and be specific. "Middle East" is a generic region includes many countries and many religions.

By Gfjigi (Gfjigi) on Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 03:20 pm: Edit

yeah, the middle east is not entirely islamic, just like any other area of land. america isn't entirely christian either

By Guyute (Guyute) on Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 05:13 pm: Edit

this post inspired me to find the nearest hookah place by my campus - and surprise it was right across the road! had a nice veggie platter for dinner and some nice apple flavored tobacco for dessert! definately a monthly or bi-monthly trip

By Ledzeppelin1000 (Ledzeppelin1000) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 02:03 am: Edit

shisha is not the original word, its of french origin, the original word is nagilleah*spelling* pakistan like india like afghanistan of mogul, not arabian, hooka is turkish of origin but also big in egypt, the water doesnt cool it down, what burns your lungs are the toxins in the ciggerette, ie eventually you become numb to it through repeat use, hooka is about 10% pure tobacco, some type of fruit or plant and mollasses, you use a coal ontop of it with a barrier of like tin foil, it is heated up to the point of burning, where it is sucked through a pipe and inhaled, tastes excellent and smells good. it is an arabian thing, a relaxing thing for socializing, it is considered bad etiqute to smoke anything but the nagillaeh or shisha, though it isnt healthy by anymeans, it isnt paticurally unhealthy, in comparison to cigs or otherwise. so those are the basic facts

By Bunmushroom (Bunmushroom) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 03:11 am: Edit

i think it is *nargilla*

By Ledzeppelin1000 (Ledzeppelin1000) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 09:19 pm: Edit

yeah, you may be correct, i cant remember arabic for my life

By Jbizz (Jbizz) on Saturday, September 18, 2004 - 08:37 pm: Edit

smoking hookah isn't as bad as smoking tobacco. It's molasses tobacco. not as harmful

By Mikati (Mikati) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 12:36 am: Edit

hey guys, i'm very familiar with "hooka" as i lived in Qatar, a country in the middle-east for 12 years and i am syrian/lebanese. "hooka" in the gulf countries (ie. UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, etc.) is called "shisha" and they will not understand any other word. you can probably say it is rediculously popular all over the arab world. In areas such as Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, it is called "argeeleh" and they also won't understand any other word. like, if you asked for a "shisha" in lebanon, they wouldn't understand.

By Aim78 (Aim78) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 01:21 am: Edit

India is in Asia, you dumb fcks.

By Alex00087 (Alex00087) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 01:26 pm: Edit

I love the orange flavor one. I read the menu, it said it contains 0.0% Nicotine, and 0.5% Tar, so im sure thats way less harmful then actual cigarettes, not to mention Hookah is more fun and social.

By Icarus (Icarus) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 05:56 pm: Edit

haha uh huh - just keep telling yourself that its not harmful and it might just come true. Nicotine is the addictive compound in cigarettes and cigars, etc. but tar is the stuff that builds up on your lungs and ultimately kills you. (You ever seen those pictures of the autopsied lungs of a smoker and how black they are? That black stuff is the tar)
That, and I seriously doubt it contains no nicotine.

I stand by my previous statement - the only thing you should be inhaling is clean air.

By Ledzeppelin1000 (Ledzeppelin1000) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 06:33 pm: Edit

were no deluding our selves, personally i think your name is pretty fitting to the level of your intelligence. all were saying in comparison to smoking ciggerettes, its much healthier

By Sdsumystic (Sdsumystic) on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 05:05 am: Edit

Ok Aim78, since you think everyone else is so dumb, and that you are so smart what CONTINENT is the "middle east" on?

By Serin (Serin) on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 09:27 pm: Edit

hookahs tyt as hell

and its from turkey

so there.

By Serin (Serin) on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 09:29 pm: Edit

let me elaborate

hookah doesnt do anything to you its harmless.

so all you unexperienced people should shut your mouth because hookah is sooo fun and tastes soo good.

And it isnt worse than cigarettes at all. they hardly compare.

By Icarus (Icarus) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 02:30 am: Edit

all right I don't want this to turn into a full blown ad hominem argument, but I feel I must reiterate this one final time because I don't like this growing trend among the college community thinking that Hookah is even a reasonably safe (or safer than cigarettes) way to smoke.
So first, please don't insult me - it doesn't behoove someone of your obviously superior intelligence ::rolls eyes::

You said "99% of tar and carcinogens are left behind, so all in all, it is perfectly fine with relative few side effects"
The Director of Science of the American Medical Association disagrees with you...

"Several studies indicate that hookah smoke contains significant amounts of nicotine and high amounts of arsenic and other heavy metals, said Tom Houston, director of science and community health advocacy for the American Medical Association. Incidences of lip and tongue cancer among hookah users are reasonably high, and the effect on the heart of using hookahs is the same as cigarette smoking, he said.

"They're only deluding themselves if they think it is a safe way to smoke," he said. Because smoking hookahs is touted as nonaddictive, Houston said, he worries about young people who develop a taste for nicotine through smoking a hookah, and "when they can't find a hookah bar they borrow a cigarette, and there they go.""
(By Kimberly Edds
WASHINGTON POST)

By Exonian04 (Exonian04) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 03:53 am: Edit

I heard that hookahs are illegal in maryland, even if the substance used is tobacco? Is there any truth to this?

By Alongfortheride (Alongfortheride) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 08:40 am: Edit

Arsenic, lead, heavy metals, lip and tongue cancer. 'Nuff said. I'll believe the scientists. Thanks Icarus.

By Aim78 (Aim78) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 11:57 pm: Edit

Smoking anything is disgusting. I shall never put a deathstick between my lips unless I'm really, really drunk.

By Gfjigi (Gfjigi) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 05:30 am: Edit

icarus your post was meaningless. Instead of saying things like the nicotine in hookahs are higher than in cigarettes, it said that it's considerably high. Well anything can be considerably high..

and it mentioned something about heart effects, what the, i didn't even know cigarettes were bad for the heart, only for lungs

By Nyugrad (Nyugrad) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 07:10 am: Edit

Smoking is the leading cause of death due to heart attack, stroke (the nicotine raises blood pressure and constricts blood vessels) and cancer of the tongue, esophagus, and lung. It also causes problems such as breathing disorders (commonly known as barrel chest) and brings on or worsens asthma and allergies. For a natural high,and with your doctor's approval, take up running or jogging (take it slow at first). It's proven to stimulate pleasure centers in the brain, and it's healthy. Just my opinion.

By Icarus (Icarus) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 08:36 pm: Edit

Just because you didn't know cigarettes were bad for the heart does mean they aren't. It looks like nyugrad explained this well enough.
Also, not "anything" can be considerably high. If you doctor told you your blood pressure was considerably high, you wouln't say "well, that doesn't mean anyhing - you must be wrong because anything can be considerably high"...

And yes, it will also contribute to emphysema, which is the condition that leads to barrel chest (because you are using all you accessory muscles to breathe, rather than the diaphram).