Can Hookah Bring Back A Cigarette Addiction?

[Skoozle]

I'm wondering if any of you have seen a situation where someone had successfully quit cigarettes after being addicted but then slipped back into smoking cigarettes after smoking hookah?

The reason I ask is that my folks are coming to visit tomorrow and they have both successfully kicked their addiction to cigarettes.

I would like to share some hookah with them so that they can be informed about it and maybe enjoy it sometimes, but I don't want to undo the years of work they have invested into quitting cigarettes.

I will inform them about it as much as possible and ask them if they would feel comfortable with having nicotine in their blood again.

I will ultimately base my decision on whether or not they feel comfortable, but I just wanted to know if any of you had seen any situations where someone reverted back to cigarettes after being reunited with their old friend Nic O'Tine.

[Chreees]

I don't know of anyone that quit smoking cigs then smoked hookah...

But seriously, definitely just make sure they're okay with it. Hopefully some others here will know some people who quit cigs. Actually, I'm pretty sure Venger quit cigs and now smokes only hookah. Hopefully he can chime in.

[Venger]

I haven't quit them all together but I would have to say me consumption of them is greatly reduced. If I smoke my hookah I have no craving to smoke a cig. I will go days without one and If I do have one its just one and usually because I can't smoke hookah(like at work)
That being said my wife has quit completely and won't smoke hookah fearing it will gateway her back into cigs.
Ray

[ryno]

[quote name='INCUBUSRATM' date='17 May 2010 - 01:31 PM' timestamp='1274117483' post='468404']
I don't know of anyone that quit smoking cigs then smoked hookah...

But seriously, definitely just make sure they're okay with it. Hopefully some others here will know some people who quit cigs. Actually, I'm pretty sure Venger quit cigs and now smokes only hookah. Hopefully he can chime in.
[/quote]

I quit cigs for a few months and smoked only hookah. It works great til I drink, then a hookah just doesn't cut it.

[NitetimeReign]

I was thinking along with venger's wife on this and can see why she wouldn't want to take the chance since it's the nicotine that most smokers crave. Since she has stopped all together I could actually see it leading her back. But this is just my out loud thoughts and would hate to see your parents go back to something so hard to quite.

[Chreees]

Well Skoozle, let me add my own insight... Been smoking hookah for about a year now and I have no physical addiction to it, so I doubt your parents would be like, "OMG, MUST HAVE A CIG NOW!!!" I do, however, get "cravings" where I'm like, "Man, it'd be nice to get to smoke today." But it's never a priority for me or a need.

[Skoozle]

I think that the reason most hookah smokers do not get physically addicted is because of timing. With cigs, you have one every hour or so and you get used to the constant presence of nicotine in your blood. With hookah, it is a once or twice a day thing where you load up on nicotine, then it leaves your body and you spend most of your waking hours with little to no nicotine in your blood.

I smoked cigs for close to 10 years, but never to the point that I smoked on a regular schedule. In fact, when it started to become regular and I started to "need" a cigarette, I would quit for a couple of weeks because I didn't ever want to be controlled by cigs like my parents were.

So, I kinda know what its like to crave a cigarette, but I don’t know what its like to be full on addicted to them.

I know that with alcohol, once you kick the addiction, you don't have [u]any[/u] alcohol [u]ever[/u] again. If you do, you’re still addicted.

I also know lots of people who have "quit" cigarettes but still have one with a beer.

I don't think it will be a big deal, but I am an information whore, I like to know as much as possible about something before I jump in if there are substantial risks involved.

[Arcane]

nicotine is addictive....the possibility to be addicted to it exists....

[Caila]

I think it depends on the person. I know that's not very helpful, but i think that it could have a different affect on both your parents. Hookah has nicotine but not a lot. I know hookah still gives me a buzz and i have been smoking for a while, but when my mom smokes she says its not strong and she smokes cigarettes. I think it will be fine, but just warn them hookah is fun and it has the nicotine. They might not start smoking cigarettes again, but they will probably start smoking hookah =)

[Skoozle]

Good point... Let me re-phrase the question. What are the chances that smoking hookah would cause a person (who was previously addicted to cigarettes) to become addicted again or struggle with cravings again?

[Arcane]

[quote name='Skoozle' date='17 May 2010 - 09:52 AM' timestamp='1274125979' post='468425']
Good point... Let me re-phrase the question. What are the chances that smoking hookah would cause a person (who was previously addicted to cigarettes) to become addicted again or struggle with cravings again?
[/quote]
I don't think anyone can really say for sure. There's several factors you have to consider.

Is the person in question currently struggling with cravings? What is their overall attitude towards smoking? How long has it been since their last cigarette?

Also, consider that the re-introduction to nicotine may trigger a relapse and they could easily feel the "need" to smoke to get more nicotine in their body. Will this automatically lead to them lighting up another cigarette? Maybe....but, then again...it could also lead to them asking you to set up another hookah instead. There's also the oral fixation. The physical movment of taking a drag from a cigarette or a pull from the hookah may trigger a relapse as well.

Depending on where they sit as far as "getting over the addiction"

[Skoozle]

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

[PSU Smoker]

interesting question....I smoke cigs on and off and quit for a week or two here and there and a month every now and then. All the while I smoke hookah a few times a week. I get a different experience from the two...mostly I go back to smoking cigs when my schedule is hectic with long drives every morning and classes all day...basically I start smoking again so i can actually stay awake in class and while driving. Hookah is just something that relaxes me after a long day or something I smoke while playing xbox or cards. So from my personal experience I would say my hookah smoking has no effect on my cig smoking but everyone is different. I'd def like to hear how it goes

[Canon]

You can show it to them and they dont have to smoke it, i have plenty of friends that have either kicked cigs or never smoked in the first place (though is seems like a temporary break now) that dont smoke hookah when they are around me.

I say show your parents, explain it to them and ask them if they want to try it, if they say no then drop it if they want a puff (which is all they will want if they want any at all) then pass them the hose.

[KeepItSimple]

I actually used hookah to quit cigs. Obviously I carried my nicotine addiction over to hookah. But I found that quiting the habit of smoking cigs was so much easier when substituted with hookah. The health effects from smoking hookah are still bad, but way better than a pack a day habit from cigs. Then I had to cut down smoking hookah, because I was using it as a substitute way too much. The cutting back on smoking hookah was wayyyyy easier than when I would try to cut back from smoking cigs.

An answer to your question. I don't think they will want to start smoking cigs again, but they may start wanting to smoke hookah a lot.

[Kakokeko]

[b]I think Hookah replaces cigs in a way, they both have the same effects but the Shisha is more expensive than a pack of cigs, with a Pack of Shisha (100g) you can get 3 to 4 smokes for about $5 - $6, and with cigs you get more smokes for $6 - $7.[/b]
[b]For some reason I didn't get addicted to cigs, but with Hookah is another thing, still not an addiction to me but I smoke more often than cigs.[/b]

[F16WarBird]

I'm carefully monitoring my intake. I quit back in 2003 when I was in Oman. I haven't had a craving for cigarettes since I started smoking hookah, yet.

I don't smoke every day. It's whenever I feel like it. Sometimes I smoke four days straight (1 session each day) and sometimes I go a day or two without smoking.

[dingo1799]

i DID smoke a pack a day. since hookah, if im at home as in a weekend, i go all weekend without a cig. now im finding more and more that i dont even think about touching cigs, and theyre gettin to the point that they taste like shit compared to shisha. i think the hookah is gonna make me quit. i think i love my hookah(s)!

[ngraz617]

I used to smoke I never ever crave a cigarette. I smoke hookah with a friend who smokes and he actually has to stop smoking hookah in the middle of smoking a bowl to smoke a cigarette and I think that's insane. I make him go outside to smoke. On a side note I have never had anyone walk in my house and say it smells bad or even bring it up and I smoke right off the kitchen in my garage with the door open. I let him smoke a few times and when I went out and came back in the hose and garage stunk. I just had to throw that in about the smell for some reason. Anyway I don't think that they will be affected at all but if you do smoke with them I would suggest a low nicotine shisha, not Nakhla, you have any shisha like that? Starbuzz maybe????

[thatonethere]

Nope. I used to smoke cigs, and I have no desire to smoke them again. I enjoy my hookah and appreciate it greatly.

[Skoozle]

Thanks, ex-smokers. Yeah it will be AF or SB for them, mostly because I don't want their hearts jumping out of their chests when they climb a flight of stairs.

[F16WarBird]

They might not want to smoke.

I sent a buddy of mine a crappy hookah I bought as a souvenir. Before I could even tell him it was better of as a decoration he said he didn't want to use it because he quit smoking a couple months before and didn't want to risk starting up again.

[newjacksm]

When I use to smoke hookah about 2 or 3 times a week I never smoked, now that I smoke hookah maybe once a month or once every 2 months. I picked up smoking cigarettes.

Now that school is finally over, I have more time to my self and have no worries. This is going to be my last pack and I will be purchasing more shisha.

I have so much shisha already, but it has all dried out, I smoked it and tastes like utter crap. Most of my shisha is about a year to two years old. One of the only flavors that I feel that I need on hand 24/7 is Nakhla Double apple and I dont have it. (Ok ok getting off topic!!1!!1!)

[redjako]

It hasn't happened to me.

But my friend, who is a MASSIVE smoker (15+ years at 2 packs+ per day) whenever he tries to quit he can't smoke hookah. Its the ACT of pulling that gets him to jones on the ciggies. Not the fact that he can feel any nicotine.

So, leave it alone if they aren't comfortable.

[TheyCallMeDave]

I succesfully dropping cigarettes this passing new years, and if I had to say one of the determining factors that helped me, it'd be the hookah smoking. I'm in my fourth month of just hookah smoking, and I could give two shits about having a cig.

But with that being said, I'd be careful. I don't know if this is the case, but I probably don't crave a cigarette anymore because I know my hookah is close by. With your parents, unless they own one or come smoke at your house, it might conjure some cravings.

All I know is, hookah not only aided my cutting of cigs in my life, but has helped me staying off them.