hookah without tobacco

[j0hn_galt]

well i was quite an addicted somker,not a chain smoker but i needed a few fags daily, and i decided to quit, which i did.
when i was hanging around with a few friends we noticed that this chain
of coffee bars had started to serve hookahs! we went in just to make
sure since these guys never allowed smoking previously, which is why i
used to detest them. smoking and coffee is the classical combination!
it turned out that they never used any tobacco in their hookahs. it was
just the water , scented with a flavour of choice topped with charcoal!
we decided to try and i felt relaxed! the agravation for my cigs were
tolling on me and a hookah rescued me!

now heres my question- would smoking the hookah without tobacco harm
me? it sounds stupid but i want a convincing answer. of course common
sense told me it wouldnt since its only steam(flavoured) im taking in!

if it doesn't and im convinced enough, then im sure gonna buy one. i
had spotted a few in the dubai airport duty free shops and they were
cheap.
and if you guys wanna laugh cause i aint gonna have it with tobacco
then have your laugh! i ve had my dose of tobacco. i aint getting back
to it.

[Rapmaster]

Sorry to say, but m'assel (the "fragrance") has nicotine and tobacco in it.  It's less concentrated, but it's still there.  Avoid hookahs if you had a previous problem with nicotine addiction

[HooKendo]

Rapmaster, maybe you should read the post again...
Anywhoo, sorry to say it John, but you're certainly not going to find a definitive answer on this site (you'll find a lot of educated opinions, but not an answer).  My "educated opinion" is that as long as you are getting some smoke to enter your lungs, there has to be at least a trace amount of harmful chemicals to create that smoke.  As far as comparing to cigs, though, it's pretty much the difference between a wild puma and a housecat (bad metaphor...).  You should be in the clear, and if it helps you quit smoking, I would wholeheartedly support you getting a hookah! 

[cypress]

I would say that since there is a coal on there are harmfull chemicals
entering the body. Any smoke by-product of something burning is
harmful.  I believe that this is a fact.  I am not sayiing
smoking hookah is safe but if you are concerned about harmful chemicals
entering you body then there are some concerns.  The only
alternative that may be safer is to find an alternative heat source
like a hookah heater . That will generate the steam without releasing
harmful chemicals from the coal.  Now I am not sure how safe that
added flavor/fragrance is. So I hoped that helped.

[great glavin]

This reminds me of a brand of hookah *tobacco* a friend of mine bought called "Soex" at golden tobacco in palatine. The stuff isnt even tobacco at all and the box cites it as tobacco free, nicotine free, and tar free. He said the flavor was subpar and the stuff had like a mulch wood chip cut to it. On the box the only clue to what your smoking was the phrase "herbal hookah". weird stuff...

[yashman19]

[quote name='great glavin']This reminds me of a brand of hookah *tobacco* a
friend of mine bought called "Soex" at golden tobacco in palatine. The
stuff isnt even tobacco at all and the box cites it as tobacco free,
nicotine free, and tar free. He said the flavor was subpar and the
stuff had like a mulch wood chip cut to it. On the box the
only clue to what your smoking was the phrase "herbal hookah". weird
stuff...[/quote]

Also for me price wise, this isn't the cheapest stuff in the world
either. At my local market where I buy my tobacco at, Al Fahker is $12
which is pretty standard, cheaper then online because no shipping, and
the Soex brand is a dollar cheaper. I wanted to try the stuff but now I
might just have to hold off. If I pay that much money for a "healthy"
alternative, it had better smoke halfway decent atleast.

[supachink]

I've heard of things like dried fruit ma'assels but ive never smoked
them. According to the person that told me about them they are just
dried fruits and thye contain no tobacco or nicotine, im sure there is
still a molasses coating on them. I have no idea the validity to this,
but if anyone knows anything about dried fruit ma'assels please let me
know, ive been dying to try one.

[j0hn_galt]

thanks a lot guys...this is definetely one of the better forums i ve
signed up. people love to discuss stuff rather than flaming newcomers.
i have decided to pick up a hookah and get busy. do you get electric
hookahs? im sure you do....since i feel that the charcoal routine is a
bit of a chore. does it in any way ruin the ethnicity or "feel"?

[supachink]

alot of the memebers on this forum have tried the hs electric heater
and found it to be a hassle. I would stay just stick to the regular
coals as they work the best. Golden coals and Three Kings are the two
that i prefer. in the 33m tablets of course, the big ones 40mm i belive
make my hookah burn, but its all a preference. You'll begin to figure
things out as you go along, but my suggestion is to stray away from the
electric heater.

[Rapmaster]

Bah sorry, gotta quit drinkin and posting/reading.
Anyway, I would think that the alternative stuffings (herbal hookah and all the mentioned) would be similar to the herbal cigarettes they sell at certain headshops.  I wouldn't really go out and invest too much in them.