Health related questions

[after_god]

Hello you guys, my name is Luis, i'm from Mexico city.
I've been using hookah's for a while, the hookah lounges around here are kinda cheap so I get a good smoke every once in a while, but, everytime I read a medical article about hookahs I ended up feeling guilty and doubtful about this habit.
I'm a medicine school student, I know the principles of lung diseases caused by smoking but... I ain't quitting the habit , it's too good. I just thought that maybe you guys could help me a little with the health related issues.
For example, I've heard at the lounges that some coals are more dangerous than others, I've also heard about methods and special hookahs that filter much better the smoke, but I have never seen em...
Any advices? Maybe good links?
 
Thanks a lot amigos.

[mushrat]

for a filter, try this link..
[url="http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2339&KW=filter"] http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/forum_pos...asp?TID=2339&am[/url] p;KW=filter
For the rest...
some coals, natural fingers i think it was, with cellulose binders, may give off more Co2...i recall something about that...I use bulk mostly so what do I know?
Lets face it, hookah is just NOT a healthy habit. PERIOD.

[HookahDuck]

As I understand it, Quick-lighting coals produce higher ammounts of co2 than naturals because of the binder in them. When all of my golden's are gone I plan on switching to Bulk natural.Mush is correct. Waterpipe smoking is NOT good for you, and to quote Tangiers:SMOKING HOOKAH WILL END YOUR LIFE PREMATURELY. No one can really argue that that isnt true. Few studies have been done, and the ones that have were for the most part confounding and inconclusive. There is far to great a misconception that smoking hookah is healthy.Run a search for health. It comes up often.

[tjt486]

mushrat what kind of coals do you use, and where can one find them??

[Sonthert]

From chemical analyses: I have come to believe that real Japanese charcoal produce less carbon monoxide than other coals. In order, from least Carbon Monoxide produced, to most,Real Japanese Coals < Natural coals < Formed coals, like "fingers" <Puck types (like 3 kings) < Fake Japanese coalsI haven't looked alot at puck types, they may be on par with formed coals, they may be worse, they are probably about equal.

[Sonthert]

Sorry. I accidently exited by save...Carbon Monoxide is believed, although not completely proven to promote heart disease. As to the rest of the health effects, I would like to quote the overly brilliant source that Hookah Duck quoted.Smoking Hookah will end your life Prematurely.I do appreciate, support and work towards reducing these effects. I look at ways, sometimes, to decrease the health effects. I designed my tobacco with these things in mind. I can't say its safer, but I'm thinking about it, at least.

[after_god]

Well thanks a lot for the feedback, I know that smoking shisha will never be healthy but like Tangiers said: I do appreciate, support and work towards reducing these effects.
And well who knows... In a few years i'll have access to the faculty's lab, maybe i'll make a project about it.
Thanks a lot dudes, keep smoking

[[LB]]

i use the same coals sometimes mush, theyre not in fingers, so you know they just ran logs through a grill and threw it in a box you know.otherwise i use the embers from my fire place- it does not get any more natural than that, from my backyard- to my fire to- to my hookah

[Sonthert]

I could be wrong, to some degree, natural coals may be the worst thing to use...technology and addition of oxidizing agents may be just the thing to make charcoal safer...I don't know...the point is...just because its natural, its safer...

[Sonthert]

That is, just because it is natural doesn't necessarily mean its safer.

[dunhillsharp]

But hey, if its natural, at least you will die a natural death



in all seriousness, you probably breathed in more crap when you road
the school bus as a kid... and you know that stuff was fowl, because
you could taste the cancer

[Seandoo]

How can one tell the difference in fake Japanese charcoal vs. real Japanese charcoal?

[dizzing]

the real ones say golden charcoal or abu haitam (the abu haitam may only have a little logo that looks like AHG or something).  the fake crap ones say easy-lite or god knows what else.  plus, the real ones smell and taste good, the fake ones smell and taste like raunchy arse.

[Seandoo]

ah thanks for the clarification =)

[Sonthert]

I've noticed these differences:Real Japanese: Break lines are actually "cut" and you can frequently (although not always) see the black coal between the lines. Real Japanese coals come naked in a box of either 72 or 96. The box itself is wrapped in plastic. The workmanship on the tends to be fairly uniform. Japanese coals are either distributed by Canary or Abu-Hitham. Some older ones are distributed by others and are fine. Fake Japanese Coals (diamantes, Easy Lights) Break lines are shallow and useless. Fake Japanese coals are most commonly wrapped with plastic inside the box and then the entire box is wrapped in more plastic. The workmanship on some brands of fake Japanese Coal is erratic.Hope that helps.