Help!

[maddog88]

Hello Hookah Lovers,

Recently, I have become interested in buying a Hookah. I'll be in my Senior year of High-School next year (I'm of legal age) and I currently live at home. I just got out of a long-time hobby, airsoft, and brought in a whole load of cash with my sales. Although I live in NH, I go to NY rather frequently. The general area I go to has a hookah bar. I've been there five times which my parent knows about and has no problem with. Upon receiving this money I asked if I could buy a Mya hookah to have at the house, it is expensive, but is really quite gorgeous. She declined rather quickly. I explained that I wouldn't be smoking it everyday, which I wouldn't and it would be in the house at all times. Through all my talking she still didn't budge and even sent me three emails of articles stating how hookah smoking is much more dangerous than cigerette smoking. She is convinced it is a horrible thing. I tried and tried explaining to her in manor how the hookah is a part of medition for me, and that society has given it a label of a drug-using contraption. I don't understand any of this quite frankly, although I don't smoke cigerettes I have a carton of Black Russians in my room from a recient trip to Europe that shes fine with. My good friend even brought over his one-hose and we smoked it in my kitchen. If anyone has been in this situation or has any advice on what to say it would mean alot. I really enjoy this art-form and would like to have sessions in my room rather than spending cash at a bar. Thanks.

Justin

[yashman19]

Not that she'll care, but explain to here how much money you'll be saving by not spending money at the bar and instead smoking at home

Other than that, I'm not sure. From reading your post, she seems very lenient in most respects, so I can't really figure out why she'd be against you owning one. Maybe she sees your current situation as just a sort of fad, and shes afraid that if you buy one you'll be sucked into it FOREVER?!

I personally don't see hookah as being more dangerous than ciggies. I don't claim it to be a healthy alternative, but there are some good things and bad things about hookah compared to ciggs. Ciggs have a heafty list of nasty added ingredients, but hookah theres the carbon monxide from the coals... +s and -s to both.

Perhaps just stress to her that you plan to keep your new hobby in moderation? Maybe you can soften her up by telling her you'd like to just smoke it on the weekends with friends, and never by yourself? This will show her its more of a social thing, as apposed to just a simple addiction.

Good luck mang, keep us updated. These posts come up every now and then, and its always fun to see who gets kicked out of the house, and who converts their parents

[tj154906]

The "evidence" that she has found on the dangers of hookah smoking are, for the most part, not backed up by any empirical evidence. There is just as much, or possibly more, evidence supporting the opposite. Make sure that she understands this.

I'm 19 and didn't get my own hookah until I was out of the house (at school). When I moved back in for the summer I brought my stuff back and at first my parents were less than excited. I have since "converted" them, and they often smoke with me. As the above poste said, make sure that she understands that is just going to be a casual hobby, and that you're not interested (and would be hard pressed to) pick up an addiction. Don't give up and I bet that she'll cave. Good luck! Edited June 30, 2007 by tj154906

[maddog88]

Thanks for the reply!

It's pretty confusing to me at least. In my Sophmore year I was bringing in beer with no problem, I was just honest about it and that it would stay inside the house. The carbon monoxide is also a big thing to her, I tried telling her I'd even smoke outside on the patio instead of in my room even though she commented on how nice the smell was while my friend and I were having a smoke in my kitchen. It's basically one big stress fest. I thought about just ordering it but I know she'll chuck it while I'm not home. I am leaving for a week on Sunday however when I get back I will keep you all updated, I really hope this works out.

Justin

[maddog88]

The "evidence" that she has found on the dangers of hookah smoking are, for the most part, not backed up by any empirical evidence. There is just as much, or possibly more, evidence supporting the opposite. Make sure that she understands this.

Are there any articles you know of helping out the smokers side of the story? I'm sure any legit article might benifit.

Justin

[mrmonk7663]

Parents are weird like that sometimes. It could very well be that somewhere deep in your mom's mind she associates the looks of a hookah with a bong. Then, perhaps she thinks to herself "if people came over to the house and saw it what would they think of me, how would it look and reflect on me." Maybe i'm totally off base, but I have seen this reasoning before. It even makes sense. Many people in this country, wrong or right, have parents who let them do things like drink underage at the house etc etc. It is almost a normal thing to hear about. Your mom most likely knows quite a few other moms who allow their children to do the same thing. I would be willing to bet though that your mom doesn't have very man friends with kids "smoking the hookah" in the house. Anyway, this is just conjecture and I could totally be off base. Take care.

Salam,
Michael

[dcrooksjr]

My advice is just order the pipe, once it showed up on the door step my parents where finally forced to confront the actual issue...kind of like when I bought my first humidor. I wouldn't say their 100% ani-smoking they weren't cool with the idea, health etc. But I explained to them that your tobacco experience stems from a carton or more a week. Hookah and the cigars one to three times a week despite what all these health organizations say I find hookah and cigars to not be addictive however i'm terrified of the addictive qualites of cigarettes and thats why i stay away from them.

I was one of the lucky ones that managed to convert parents/land lord. My father although he has not smoked it yet he has expressed interest in investing in the opening a lounge some where in the local area. Edited June 30, 2007 by dcrooksjr

[boomhauer]

well you asked her about it which is a plus on your side. personally i say buy it as i had a similar experience with my mother. she was so against it for so long and my sister said she would get it for my 20th birthday. my 20th birthday rolls in and i get my hookah and i set it up and me and my sister (she never smoked before) smoke the evening away. needless to say my mother was pissed about this and didnt talk to us very much the next day but she got over it rather quickly. still gets angry when i smoke but not as angry anymore. she did a threat to throw mine away also i have to say but when i clean my hookah i leave everything apart to let it dry out and nothing has disappeared yet so i think im safe on that aspect.

She is mostly against it is because both my parents where RT's (respiratory therapists) so dealt with people everyday they worked who smoked and saw the after effects. just because of the end effect of smoking looks bad doesnt mean you cant have fun. when i wanted a motorcycle my mom had me go to her to work for about a week for one thing. she wanted me to see the after effects of a motorcycle accident at least once and boy was it nasty.....blood everywhere, skin missing everywhere, face really was non existent, skull cracked, broken bones.....still didn't stop me though haha XD

[hooky1742]

Hi, i was in exactly the same situation when i first wanted to buy a hookah. What i did was just buy the thing, then i kept it at a mates house (he had already managed to convert his mum by convincing her that shisha didnt contain tobacco, lol). After that i kept subtly dropping hints that i was gonna buy one come what may at some stage. After a while i threw a shisha party at my house and brought along my hookah and my mates, then just said hey i went and bought it this afternoon. Got her to try a few puffs on it and she was actually pretty cool about it in the end. My dad is not convinced, but my mum is the more over-riding parent so im sorted Edited June 30, 2007 by hooky1742

[dcrooksjr]

Parents really are a lot of fun I bought my first motorcycle when I was 16 after about 6 months of convincing my parents they hate motorcycles with a passion. This year my old 85 Yamaha kicked the bucket and my dad thought it was over, he hates'em worse than mum did. I turned 20 this year and decided to treat my self to a Honda F4i.

Smoking was actually easier than the bike though that only took a month a piece before they where ok with it. Smoking in my room took another 4 but I got their eventually. Edited June 30, 2007 by dcrooksjr

[Hearsay]

From the way you explained it, it doesn't sound like your mother is at all worried about the possible relation to drug paraphenalia. She's just concerned for your health, which is totally reasonable. Hookah smoking is still smoking and is therefore not good for your lungs. While all research 'proving' that hookah is more dangerous than cigarettes likely needs some serious reevaluation, hookah is definitely bad for you. Because of the mellow nature of hookah smoke, you smoke a hell of a lot more than when you smoke a cigarette.

The best way to convince your parents, who sound like reasonable people, would be to explain that hookah is something you'll likely do in moderation.

[SammyDDS]

My advice would be to buy the hookah and bite the bullet, they will get over it in time. When I told my fiance I was buying a hookah she totally objected to it and kicked my ass for a few days. Then she decided to try it and she loved it. After a few days I told her I was going to buy a big one that was 7 feet tall from hookah-shisha, and she said, " Sam if you dare buy that, I will make sure you duely pay for it for the rest of your life!"... and then she rambled about how it wouldnt match the decor, and something about the interior decorator would think were pothead doctors.

I was never able to get the big hookah But now Im fighting her so that I can get a Golden Retriever


Just remember you'll win some and loose some!


-Dr. Samuel C. Fasbinder DDS

[cypherkk]

well to be honest yeah. My mom was sayin' I couldn't ever smoke in the house, but I just waited till she went to sleep to lite it up and a couple of times she caught me. Now, I just lite it up, she doesn't say anything, and all is good. But, then she was never one to just throw things aways she didn't like.

And, I understood her concerns, she was a past smoker, didn't want got feel like she needed to try it or get a smoke, thats another reason I only smoked while she wasn't there or was asleep.

[Sonthert]

They often get used to it. My mother always had real bad asthma and she got used to it.

Check out some of my contesting scientific "evidence" about second hand smoke and pipe smoking more generally.

http://www.hookahforum.com/index.php?showt...0&start=40#

Also, realize every one of those articles "Smoking Hookah as dangerous as cigarettes." contains no studies, little to no data and generally, at the end says "We need to do more research." These are really just op-ed pieces designed to fish in people to pay the same scientists to do these studies. The media picks them up as factual. The scientists/university wants to catch your attention and the media wants to push stories that catch people's attention. They aren't factual. They are theories only. Hookah smoking may and probably is just as bad for you as cigarettes (especially carbon monoxide/risk of heart disease). The studies aren't in yet and there are a few things that smoking hookahs has going for it (no burning of tobacco, lower temperature, etc.) that may reduce or eliminate its health risks.

Good luck, we've all been there, the Mom Wars.

[Allia22]

They often get used to it. My mother always had real bad asthma and she got used to it.

Check out some of my contesting scientific "evidence" about second hand smoke and pipe smoking more generally.

http://www.hookahforum.com/index.php?showt...0&start=40#

Also, realize every one of those articles "Smoking Hookah as dangerous as cigarettes." contains no studies, little to no data and generally, at the end says "We need to do more research." These are really just op-ed pieces designed to fish in people to pay the same scientists to do these studies. The media picks them up as factual. The scientists/university wants to catch your attention and the media wants to push stories that catch people's attention. They aren't factual. They are theories only. Hookah smoking may and probably is just as bad for you as cigarettes (especially carbon monoxide/risk of heart disease). The studies aren't in yet and there are a few things that smoking hookahs has going for it (no burning of tobacco, lower temperature, etc.) that may reduce or eliminate its health risks.

Good luck, we've all been there, the Mom Wars.

Just don't let her read that post My mom's still under the assumption that most of the harmful particles are filtered out when it goes through the water, and I'd kind of like her to keep thinking that...

[mgcsinc]

There is just as much, or possibly more, evidence supporting the opposite. Make sure that she understands this.

I wish that this was true - it would make smoking hookah much less of a guilty pleasure for me

There is a rogue researcher (Kamal Chaouachi) in France/Italy who seems to believe that hookah is a delightful pleasure with no risk and even some benefits. If you'd like a summary of research showing that hookah smoking is not dangerous, they you can check out his stuff. I'll warn you, though, that sifting through the research he cites might inspire exactly the opposite conclusion from the one he hopes you'll draw from his article. In order to find research that suggests a lack of danger, you have to really dig. Dr. Chaouachi cites a number of old studies that use outdated methods because, frankly, the new studies reach conclusions that he'd rather not accept.

A building abundance of research suggests that there are potential health risks in hookah smoke at a level similar to or higher than that of cigarette smoke. Because hookah smoking in the form that we see it today in America (infrequent use of Maassal tobacco) has not existed for long (Maassal didn't even exist until the 90's), epidemiological studies of true health effects don't exist, so no one can say anything one way or another about the real health effects. Edited July 11, 2007 by mgcsinc

[maddog88]

So I'll just skip a long ass story and tell you guys that today I won my week long battle, hah. I'll be placing my order to Hookah Shisha tomarrow. Thanks to everyone for the help, its much appreciated. However, I do have some questions to ask that I'd thought I'd do here, before starting another topic.

I have alot of get-togethers at my house (some of my friends pratically live here), so I thought I might aswell keep a number of different flavors on hand. I was recommended both Nakhla Double Apple and Al-Waha After Nine by a waiter at the local Hookah Lounge. Although I'll be buying both of these along with my order, I thought I might get a bunch more fruit-based flavors like strawberry, pineapple, peach, melon, ect. I'm also making a seperate order to HookahHookah for Watermelon, Lemonade and Cola from what reviews I've read right here on the forums. I've read the medioker reviews of both Al-Amir and Al-Waha and they seem to be your middle of the line tobaccos. The Starbuzz line looks pretty good aswell as Tangiers. Romman is a little iffy to me, it seems HS is telling me a different story than the reviews here are. A good Fruit Punch and Licorice are also on my list. I look for flavor when I smoke, im not so much into the buzz although if it knocks me on my ass I'm down, but I'm not reaching for that. Basically what I'm asking you guys is what are some good brands of fruit flavors such as these. Thanks again...

Justin

[Allia22]

AF strawberry is one of my absolute all-time favorites (in fact AF has yet to fail me). SB white peach is freaking awesome (DO NOT get regular peach... it's just ridiculously sweet, made me want to barf), and Layalina watermelon is quite good as well, just like a watermelon Jolly Rancher.

Never tried HH, but I probably never will due to the responses of the forum members and the lack of money to be pissing away on iffy flavors.

And if you're buying all this tobacco for your friends, they damn well better be pitching in on it!