New To Hookah (Kinda)

[xtianhookahlover]

Hello everyone. I had smoked from a friend's small hookah a few times over the last few years, but I am no longer friends with that person, and I wanted to try the hookah again, so I searched for a local hookah bar, and I found an awesome one. If anyone wants to know the name and where it is, PM me, because I don't want to look like I just came here to advertise a bar. lol. Anyway, my wife and I loved it so much we were there from 10pm until they closed at 3am, pretty much smoking constantly, as they will repack your hookah all night every half hour for one relatively low (imo) cover charge. So we probably split like 10 bowls that night. As I said, we really loved it. The atmoshpere of the place is exactly the sort of hangout we had been looking for, and we very much enjoyed the hookah experience in that setting.

We plan on making it a regular thing, probably going there once a week and staying as long as we can. They are open from 8p to 3a. Part of the reason for this post, besides relaying my experience with hookah, is to ask if that is too much smoking or not. I know people have said it is similar to cigarette smoking, but I found it much more pleasant. I even enjoy the (very) occasional cigar, but this was even far superior to that, imo.

So are we seriously risking our health doing it for 5-7 hours a week? I know there are people that smoke alot more than that, but I just wanted people's general opinion on if that is too much, or if it is one of those things where if I am doing it at all, I might as well go for the ghusto with it, lol.

[method]

the day i split 10 bowls in 5 hours with some1 , is the day i'll die (i think)

about health issues , every once in a while theres some research with different conclusion , i settled for "its not healthy , but i still do it" .

[Scrappydoo]

[quote name='xtianhookahlover' timestamp='1309877178' post='514668']
Hello everyone. I had smoked from a friend's small hookah a few times over the last few years, but I am no longer friends with that person, and I wanted to try the hookah again, so I searched for a local hookah bar, and I found an awesome one. If anyone wants to know the name and where it is, PM me, because I don't want to look like I just came here to advertise a bar. lol. Anyway, my wife and I loved it so much we were there from 10pm until they closed at 3am, pretty much smoking constantly, as they will repack your hookah all night every half hour for one relatively low (imo) cover charge. So we probably split like 10 bowls that night. As I said, we really loved it. The atmoshpere of the place is exactly the sort of hangout we had been looking for, and we very much enjoyed the hookah experience in that setting.

We plan on making it a regular thing, probably going there once a week and staying as long as we can. They are open from 8p to 3a. Part of the reason for this post, besides relaying my experience with hookah, is to ask if that is too much smoking or not. I know people have said it is similar to cigarette smoking, but I found it much more pleasant. I even enjoy the (very) occasional cigar, but this was even far superior to that, imo.

So are we seriously risking our health doing it for 5-7 hours a week? I know there are people that smoke alot more than that, but I just wanted people's general opinion on if that is too much, or if it is one of those things where if I am doing it at all, I might as well go for the ghusto with it, lol.
[/quote]

I would say listen to your body and how you feel. I can smoke every night and not feel bad, as long as I smoke on a full stomach and drink a lot of water. Don't compare it to ciggies, unlike ciggies, I think you'll find most hookah smokers can stop at any time and go long times without smoking, come back to it without having withdrawals. I find most health articles that are hard on shisha really don't get the difference and call it all tobacco, which it is, but "OUR" way is washed thru water and cooled and not smoked in the same way. I hope that helps?

[Stuie]

10 bowls in 5 hours... man you are seriously wasting some shisha. I can get an hour easy in my smallest bowl.

As far as smoke time. Nah I smoke 9-2 every most nights.

[Chreees]

I would say 5-7 hours a week you'll be fine. But they'll gladly repack your bowl every thirty minutes? That's a huge waste for them. Even if it's a brand like Nakhla, you're probably still barely scorching the top layer of the tobacco in the bowl. Not trying to hate or anything, but I can imagine this could get you on the owner's shit list pretty quick, because you'll become known as the guys who want a new bowl every thirty minutes and waste all the tobacco. I don't know, I may be totally off-base, but I know if it were me I'd do more rounds of coals on the same bowl instead. This way the owner is happy and it's less work for the employees/owner. Please don't take this post as hate, because that is not my intent. And besides, they may actually not mind changing the bowl out that often... But I doubt it.

Tapatalk'd via iPhone

[â€On]

[quote name='Stuie' timestamp='1309880388' post='514674']
10 bowls in 5 hours... man you are seriously wasting some shisha. I can get an hour easy in my smallest bowl.

As far as smoke time. Nah I smoke 9-2 every most nights.
[/quote]

Agreed, but, I do remember a time when I first started smoking that things were not so clear...heh

In regards to your health and hookah: I've been smoking almost daily for 1-4 hours a day for the past 5 years or so. I swim lengths every couple of days and am generally a fairly active person. I havn't noticed much change in my stamina from smoking, nor any other ill health effects. One main thing to keep in mind is that with a hookah you are cooking the shisha, with a cigarette or pipe or cigar, you are burning the tobacco. As mentioned, it's easy to walk away from hookah, and I've done it for months at a time and the only reason I came back to it is because I had a lot of downtime at home. Another thing of note, I almost always smoke indoors, and my house does not smell bad. Smoking shisha is not like smoking cigarettes, it doesn't leave your house smelling gross.

If you are planning on making it a regular thing, you can save some money by buying your own hookah. The most recommended beginner hookah around is probably the Mya QT: [url="http://www.hookahjohn.com/MYA-QT-063.htm"]MYA QT @ HookahJohn[/url] You would do good to get a [url="http://www.hookahjohn.com/Tangiers-Small-Phunnel-bowlsNEW-STYLES-and-COLORS-065.htm"]Small Phunnel Bowl[/url] and a few different types of shisha. Take the time to read the forums and learn how to properly pack bowls, make holes in your tinfoil, what types of coals will work best for you and how to use them to their best. Learn heat management (coal placement) and, in no time at all, you'll be getting awesome clouds. I'm still learning new things about smoking hookah today, and I like that. It's a rewarding thing to pursue, because you actually get to see the results (if you try something new, and it works, you get bigger clouds, better flavor, smoother smoke, etc, which makes for a better time).

[vendetta_revived]

I've been smoking 3+ hours every damn day with addition of Sundays when I smoke for about 6 hours with friends if we are not going somewhere out. I had a surgery recently and got my blood work done because of it, and the doctors couldn't even tell that I smoke anything, my lungs were A+.

Now I should mention that I despise cigs and never smoke em, and I've been smoking hookah for only 5 months now, but I guess there should have been something the doctors could tell if it was that bad. So you should be okay as far as I think.

Have you thought about buying your own? It's more rewarding that way, you have the convenience and comfort of your home where you can smoke in your pajamas while doing anything, studying, working, or just kicking back and enjoying a good movie! It also costs only a fraction when compared to going to a lounge.

If you have thought of it, then go with what Aeon has mentioned above and you won't regret it!

On the lounge thing, I'd agree with Stuie and INCUBUSRATM, a new bowl every half an hour is not the way to go imo, I get 2 hours easily out of one bowl, and anyway, on any tobacco, you should get at least 1 hour before it starts to lose flavour.

[xtianhookahlover]

Thanks for all the input and suggestions. As far as doing it at home versus at the lounge, we really like the whole experience of being at the lounge, (the music, atmosphere, people watching, and such) so I don't think we'll be getting our own hookah any time soon. As far as how often we ask for another bowl, I'll keep all that in mind. I don't think we pissed off anyone at the lounge being our first time there and all, but I'll suggest to my wife that we try and let each bowl last an hour and just ask them to "second coal" it after 30-45 minutes. In actuality, I don't think we had 10 bowls. It might have been more like 7, but every time we switched it was when they offered, except once, when we were barely getting any smoke and the girl was too busy smoking herself to notice, lol.

[MichaelLCP]

No smoke is healthy for you. So either way. I don't think 7 hours a week will kill you.