Health

[tini]

So I've been smoking hookah for a few years on a regular basis. Lately I've been giving my health and the health of others some thought as it pertains to the dangerous effects of smoking tobacco. I've been trying to do some research and I cannot find many solid sources of information that are at least able to compare the effects of cigarettes to shisha. Anybody want to try and shed some light on this situation?

I mostly tend to smoke Al Waha flavors that claim to have .5% nicotine and 0% tar. Does that mean there is no tar even when they are burned? Are there serious negative side effects in using self light coals such as kings etc? Most of the research I did was contigent on there being 4% nicotine in the shisha which just doesn't make much sense. I even came across things saying that a bowl of shisha is equal to 72 drags of a cigarette. I have always loved smoking hookah more than anything else. I have never smoked cigarettes and don't intend to but I have to wonder if my constant shisha smoking will catch up with me

[LZ22]

Straight answer, there hasn't been any meaningful or significant study on the effects of hookah, and especially comparing them to cigs. When 'studies' compare cigs to hookah, and make claims like 1 hookah bowl=72 cigs, it basically means the smoke volume. It doesn't necessarily mean it is JUST as bad as smoking 72 cigs. So yes, you will get a lot more nicotine smoking hookah than smoking cigs in one session I'd imagine. However, nicotine isn't really threatening compared to the thousands of carcinogens in cigs. As for the 0% tar claim, thats kind of manipulative marketing. You are still going to get tar because you are still smoking something. The box just means that the product contains 0% tar in its box state. There are different effects that tar has depending on the temperature its burned at, higher the temperature the worse it is for your lungs. Shisha burns significantly cooler than the tip of a cigarette, but again there are no studies to evaluate this. One thing I can be sure of is that just hookah tobacco definitely has less poisions and carcinogens than a cig. Also, the water doesn't actually filter out impurities...at least theres no solid proof it does. Also, no matter what coals you use you will get carbon monoxide, just like a cigarette. But I feel better smoking naturals knowing there isn't sulfur and those gross quick light chemicals.

At the end of the day, your are still smoking tobacco and tobacco still has health risks. Is it worse than cigs? Nobody really knows for sure, theres so many variables that need to be studies I'd say...

[sine]

Basically what LZ22 said, there's no conclusive comparative research. However, if you are going to be smoking hookah, the things that I believe will result in the least harmful smoking experience are:

1. Don't use quicklights. They have much more heavy metal content and burn hotter.

2. Use a phunnel bowl. I'm a proponent of the idea that since the direct heat from the coals "bakes" the tobacco rather than moves through it, the tobacco is heated to a lower and more appropriate temperature to vaporize the desired elements of the shisha without actually combusting the plant matter itself, resulting in much less tar.

3. Smoke reliable brands. For me, this means Tangiers as #1, because I know who makes it, where he makes it, his passion for producing a top-quality product, and where he gets his tobacco (all US grown I believe). Yes, OG has more nicotine, but that's not what I'm really worried about when it comes to smoking... and even if it was, you could always go with Lucid. Other brands, especially those that dye their tobacco, show more evident signs that they use undesired / unhealthy additives in the production of their shisha.

4. Don't make a habit of smoking alone. This will increase your desired frequency of sessions, as well as how much of a bowl you actually smoke. When you only smoke with others, it becomes more of an activity that you dedicate a certain portion of your agenda to, and you share the bowl, so you aren't just beasting a whole 30g of tobacco by yourself.

Hope this helps!

[tini]

you you two pretty much said what was on my mind too. I know quicklights are aweful for you but I hate using natural coals because I don't get the desired effect as quickly. Also I have yet to try tangiers but Ive heard great things. Is it true that tangiers must be smoked out of a specific bowl? thats pretty much the reason I've never gotten into it.




[quote name='sine' date='19 January 2010 - 04:22 PM' timestamp='1263943378' post='446471']
Basically what LZ22 said, there's no conclusive comparative research. However, if you are going to be smoking hookah, the things that I believe will result in the least harmful smoking experience are:

1. Don't use quicklights. They have much more heavy metal content and burn hotter.

2. Use a phunnel bowl. I'm a proponent of the idea that since the direct heat from the coals "bakes" the tobacco rather than moves through it, the tobacco is heated to a lower and more appropriate temperature to vaporize the desired elements of the shisha without actually combusting the plant matter itself, resulting in much less tar.

3. Smoke reliable brands. For me, this means Tangiers as #1, because I know who makes it, where he makes it, his passion for producing a top-quality product, and where he gets his tobacco (all US grown I believe). Yes, OG has more nicotine, but that's not what I'm really worried about when it comes to smoking... and even if it was, you could always go with Lucid. Other brands, especially those that dye their tobacco, show more evident signs that they use undesired / unhealthy additives in the production of their shisha.

4. Don't make a habit of smoking alone. This will increase your desired frequency of sessions, as well as how much of a bowl you actually smoke. When you only smoke with others, it becomes more of an activity that you dedicate a certain portion of your agenda to, and you share the bowl, so you aren't just beasting a whole 30g of tobacco by yourself.

Hope this helps!
[/quote]

[dizzbizz]

[quote name='tini' date='19 January 2010 - 07:11 PM' timestamp='1263953517' post='446510']
you you two pretty much said what was on my mind too. I know quicklights are aweful for you but I hate using natural coals because I don't get the desired effect as quickly. Also I have yet to try tangiers but Ive heard great things. Is it true that tangiers must be smoked out of a specific bowl? thats pretty much the reason I've never gotten into it.
[/quote]
It doesn't have to be, but its easier to smoke out of a phunnel. It just has to be packed dense, so if you packed it in a regular egyptian the pull will be kinda hard.

[Deutsch am Herzen]

you could also try those filters they make. not really sure how effective they are

[Venger]

everything is bad for you in excess. You can enjoy smoking your hookah in moderation and maybe shave a few years off your life. But think of the years your shaving. The really old, poop your pants, bat shit crazy years. I am 46 and closer to those years and I am still shaving away.
Ray

[sine]

[quote name='Venger' date='20 January 2010 - 03:41 PM' timestamp='1264020098' post='446655']
everything is bad for you in excess. You can enjoy smoking your hookah in moderation and maybe shave a few years off your life. But think of the years your shaving. The really old, poop your pants, bat shit crazy years. I am 46 and closer to those years and I am still shaving away.
Ray
[/quote]

Well... I'm 21 and gambling on the prospect of medical science allowing me to grow new lungs by the time this should be an issue for me XD

[LZ22]

As for your comment about natural coals not giving the same desired effects as quicklights: I use Coconara natural coals and they outperform any quicklight I've ever used. They burn at different temperatures so you will have to adjust how many you use them. They do take about 5-7 minutes to heat up fully on an electric stove or similar source. If you throw them on the stove, and then pack your bowl and set up the hookah they will be done when everything else is done. They also last like 3 times longer burning than quicklights.... You really gotta try them, you will never look back. And if you have trouble then you can post back and we can help more.

[liquidglass]

as everyone has said there are no conclusive tests to the effects of hookah, and while shisha from the US has different qualities of certain foreign shisha I will point to the fact that people have been smoking hookahs for FAR longer than ciggs (hundreds of years if I'm right) . And as of yet there is not a confirmed case of cancer resulting from such use.

Not saying it's impossible or completely healthy, but consider the facts

[Hippo_Master]

Been smoking much longer than you, no ill effects here. But everyone's different you know.

[a cliche affair]

I'm in the same boat at Sine. I'm young, i'm banking on the fact that medical advancements will allow me to live indefinitely.

:] Edited January 20, 2010 by a cliche affair

[LZ22]

Question is, do you want to die at 75 or do you want to live long enough where you can't even wipe your own ass?

[Jeff_T]

[quote name='sine' date='20 January 2010 - 12:45 PM' timestamp='1264020311' post='446657']
[quote name='Venger' date='20 January 2010 - 03:41 PM' timestamp='1264020098' post='446655']
everything is bad for you in excess. You can enjoy smoking your hookah in moderation and maybe shave a few years off your life. But think of the years your shaving. The really old, poop your pants, bat shit crazy years. I am 46 and closer to those years and I am still shaving away.
Ray
[/quote]

Well... I'm 21 and gambling on the prospect of medical science allowing me to grow new lungs by the time this should be an issue for me XD
[/quote]

+1. I'm 23 and wagering on that same gamble, I mean in the next 50+ years something profound has to come about, right?

[thatonethere]

I agree with Venger. Hopefully I won't live past 60. I've always said the day I shit my pants due to incontinence is the day I don't want to be alive anymore.[img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/Hookah.gif[/img] [img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/Hookah.gif[/img]