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Hookah bars or cafés are showing up throughout the United States, especially near college campuses in cities with large Arab and Middle-Eastern populations. The use of hookahs is very popular among college students in America as well. |
Hookah bars or cafés are showing up throughout the United States, especially near college campuses in cities with large Arab and Middle-Eastern populations. The use of hookahs is very popular among college students in America as well. |
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Popular North American websites have began legally distributeing hookah paraphinalea online. This includes hookah pipes, tobacco and accessories. The popularity of Hookah has spread to the young and old alike. The popular facebook.com website for college students has over 500 Hookah related groups. [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2210777025] [[Hookah Alliance]] being the largest group of them all, has over 1400 members to date. |
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===Europe=== |
===Europe=== |
Revision as of 00:47, 1 March 2007
A hookah (Arabic: حقة; Hindustani: हुक़ा / حقہ) is a multi-stemmed, often glass-based water pipe device for smoking, originating from arabia. It is presently popular in Turkey. A hookah operates by water-filtration and indirect heat. It can be used for smoking many substances, such as herbal fruits and tobacco. Depending on locality, hookahs are known as other names, such as a shisha/sheesha, water pipe, nargeela/nargile/narghile/nargileh, argeela/arghileh, okka, kalyan, or ghelyoon/ghalyan. Many of these names are of Arab, Somalian, Indian, Ethiopian, Turkish, Uzbek, or Persian origin. Narghile (نارگيله) is from the Persian word nārgil (نارگیل) or "coconut", and in Sanskrit nārikela (नारीकेल) since the original nargile came from India and was made out of coconut shells.[1] Shisha (شيشة) is from the Persian word shishe (شیشه, literally translated as glass and not bottle). Hashish (حشيش) is an Arabic word for grass, which may have been another way of saying tobacco. Another source states, "In early Arabic texts, the term hashish referred not only to cannabis resin but also to the dried leaves or flower heads and sweetmeats made with them".[2] Hookah itself may stem from Arabic uqqa, meaning small box, pot, or jar. Both names refer to the original methods of constructing the smoke/water chamber part of the hookah.
Narghile is the name most commonly used in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Palestine, Israel and Romania, though the initial "n" is often dropped in Arabic. Shisha is more commonly seen in Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. In Iran it is called ghalyoun or ghalyan (قليان) and in Pakistan and India it is referred to as huqqa. The archaic form of this latter name, hookah is most commonly used in English for historical reasons, as it was in India that large numbers of English-speakers first sampled the effects of the water pipe. William Hickey wrote in his Memoirs that shortly after his arrival in Calcutta in 1775:
The most highly-dressed and splendid hookah was prepared for me. I tried it, but did not like it. As after several trials I still found it disagreeable, I with much gravity requested to know whether it was indispensably necessary that I should become a smoker, which was answered with equal gravity, 'Undoubtedly it is, for you might as well be out of the world as out of the fashion. Here everybody uses a hookah, and it is impossible to get on without'.....[I] have frequently heard men declare they would much rather be deprived of their dinner than their hookah.[3]
Design and function
A hookah is constructed from four fundamental components:
- the base, vase, or smoke chamber, is partially filled with water.
- the bowl or head, which contains the flavors; the heating apparatus is placed on top.
- the pipe or stem which connects the bowl to the base by a tube that descends into the water.
- the hose, which connects to a second tube in the pipe that does not descend into the water, instead, extends into the smoke chamber.
These basic parts do not vary in function; naturally, there are any number of decorations or subtle variations in form. The heating apparatus is usually charcoal. The charcoal is usually placed on a metal mesh or perforated aluminum foil, but these are often omitted to produce a denser smoke. The hose may or may not be detachable — simple hookahs simply have a tube into the air of the smoke chamber; elaborate hookahs have three or more hoses in a single chamber, sometimes with filters attached at one or both ends of the hose. Traditionally, hookahs have been ornately decorated. Some modern hookahs bear little resemblance to older designs.
When a smoker inhales through the hose, a vacuum is created in the top portion of the smoke chamber. In reaction to this pressure differential, air must be introduced into the smoke chamber from the outside. As air is forced into the pipe it stokes the coal, in turn heating the tobacco and producing smoke. This smoke is pulled down through the pipe, and through the water into the smoke chamber. From there, it is drawn through the hose and inhaled by the smoker. As soon as the smoker finishes, the chamber pressure normalizes and very little smoke is produced by the hookah. Forcing the smoke through the water partially filters tar and particulates from the tobacco smoke in addition to cooling it.
The design of a hookah allows for multiple hoses to lead to a single filtration chamber; this simplifies use by groups. Multiple hoses can, however, reduce suction and makes drawing smoke difficult or impossible. Some hookahs incorporate a ball-bearing check valve into each hose to combat this problem, while others require smokers to block the mouthpiece with their finger when not in use. Multi-hose hookahs are particularly popular in the Western world, where hookah smoking is a social phenomenon. They are not as common in Asia and Africa.
History
Tobacco smoking was not the original use of hookahs, as there are many examples of hookahs in both art and archeology prior to the arrival of tobacco in the Old World. In this period, the substance most commonly smoked in hookahs was hashish. After tobacco was imported from the Americas in the 1600s, hookah use became more widespread because of tobacco's milder effect.
Opium, previously taken orally and mostly regarded as a medicine, was added to tobacco and smoked from the 1800s onwards. This mixture, called "madak", turned out to be more addictive than orally-ingested opium and created many social problems, especially in China. Although the practice of smoking opium and hashish in hookahs is not extinct, today hookahs are generally used for smoking tobacco.
Shisha
The history goes back to India where people smoked Tanbakoo in Coconuts. Later in Persia (now known as Iran) the wealthy made the hookah which looks the same today. In parts of Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia as they are known today were in earlier times controlled by Persia (now the area that is Iraq and Iran), then it spread to the western parts of the middle east. Today other countries call it by different names, such as Farsi(Persian) phrases used by the people in Iran.
Today Hookah is a smoking pipe known to the world in countries such as Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Libya and... Different synonyms for hookah, water pipe, or narghile(Persian: نارگیل Coconut). The word comes from the Persian word for glass. The term “shisha” (Persian: شیشه Glass) is primarily used for water pipes in Egypt and the Arabic countries of the Persian Gulf (such as Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia).
Culture
Middle East
In Arab and Persian society, social smoking is done with a single hose (Sometimes two hoses). When the smoker is finished, either the hose is placed back on the table signifying that it is free, or it is handed from one user to the next, folded back on itself so that the mouthpiece does not point at the person receiving it. Stories tell Nasser al-Din Shah thought of it as an insult but there are no official facts. Another tradition is that the receiver taps or slaps the giver on the back of the hand while taking it as a sign of respect or friendship.
However in cafés and restaurants it is rare for each smoker not to order an individual hookah (as they are very affordable in the region often ranging from 2$ to 10$ depending on the place).
Shisha cafés, normally called "gahwa" (Persian:Coffea قهوه)(standing for coffea shop), are rather widespread, and are amongst the main social gathering places in the Arab world (similar to the status pubs have in the UK).
In Iran, the hookah is known as a ghalyun (قليان). It is similar in many ways to the Arabic hookah but has its own unique attributes. An example is the top part of the Hookah Called Sar(سرPersian: Head) Which the Tobacco is placed in which is bigger than the ones we see in Turkey. Also the major part of the hose is flexible covered with soft silk or cloth while the Turkish make the wooden part as big as the flexible part. There are mouthpieces called Amjid (امجید) that each person has his own personal usually made out of wood or metal and decorated with valuable or non-valuable stones. Amjids are only used for their fancy look. However, all the Hookah Bars (Ghahve Khaane) have plastic mouth=pieces. Use of water pipes in Iran can be traced in to the Qajar period. In those days the hoses were made of Cane Straws. Persian had a special Tobacco called Khansar (خانسار). The coals would be put on the Khansar without foil. Khansar has less smoke than the normal tobacco. Today in many regions of the country, especially Tehran, men and women of all ages visit tea houses and traditional restaurants for the sake of smoking. It is highly popular in Iran even today, and can be seen commonly in many teahouses, restaurants, and similar public spaces. The hookah is frequently served along with tea, dates, and other sweets to alleviate the change in blood pressure that may be caused by smoking it. Ordering Hookah in the tea houses is usually between 1000 toman and 2000 toman (US$1-2) while in fancy restaurants could be up to 8000 (US$8). The Hookah pipe itself has a price range from 3,500 Toman (US$4) to 4,000,000-5,000,000 Toman (US$4000-5000).[citation needed] The hookah was, until recently, served to all ages; Iranian officials have since passed a law forbidding its use by those under 14.[citation needed]
In Turkey, nargile is done on a social basis, usually in one's home with guests or in a cafe with friends. Most cities have nargile cafes where nargile is offered with a non-alcoholic drink. This is mainly for health reasons rather than religious reasons. Often people will smoke nargile after dinner as a replacement for cigarettes. In bigger cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Adana, restaurants may have dinner & nargile specials which includes meal, beverage (alcoholic/non-alcoholic), Turkish coffee and nargile. In certain parts of the country people use nargile cafes to watch popular TV shows, national sports games, etc. and smoke nargile to socialize.
In Israel, Palestine and Lebanon the hookah is prevalent among Palestinian Arabs and Middle-Eastern Jewish immigrants from places like Yemen, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Hookah use is also common in the Palestinian Arab home where families will commonly smoke after a large meal or at a family gathering. Many Israeli families have also adopted this custom, although individual usage patterns vary according to culture heritage and custom.
United States and Canada
In the United States and Canada, many city, state/provincial and federal jurisdictions have in more recent years moved to ban smoking in public places. Though most jurisdictions, through the purchase of a special permit, allow hookah businesses to remain open to the public, others do not. This has caused many hookah lounges and bars to close their doors to the public. In many cases, hookah businesses have been able to remain in business by replacing their traditional, tobacco-based shisha with tobacco-free, herbal alternatives.
There remains an attachment to Shisha bars/coffee shops in cities with large Arab/Middle-eastern populations such as Montreal in Canada.
Hookah bars or cafés are showing up throughout the United States, especially near college campuses in cities with large Arab and Middle-Eastern populations. The use of hookahs is very popular among college students in America as well.
Popular North American websites have began legally distributeing hookah paraphinalea online. This includes hookah pipes, tobacco and accessories. The popularity of Hookah has spread to the young and old alike. The popular facebook.com website for college students has over 500 Hookah related groups. [1] Hookah Alliance being the largest group of them all, has over 1400 members to date.
Europe
In Spain, the use of the hookah has been recently increasing in popularity, and they are usually readily available at tea-oriented coffee houses, called teterías in Spanish, which often are run by Muslim immigrants or have some other sort of affinity with the east. Hookahs are usually sold at prices between €10 and €70, and hookah tobacco and charcoal is easily found in those same coffee houses, or at stores run by eastern immigrants. Immigrants and native Spanish alike enjoy this custom, and it is usually seen as a lighter way of smoking than cigarettes. Buying one's own tobacco and hookah is usually noticeably less expensive than ordering hookahs at a coffee house.
Hookahs are also becoming increasingly popular in Moscow and other Russian cities. Many bars employ a "hookah man" (Rus. кальянщик tr. kal'janschik), often of middle-eastern appearance and wearing an approximation of Arab or Turkish costume, to bring the pipes to customers' tables and to prepare and light the tobacco. A single hookah and hose are normally used; interchangeable plastic mouthpieces in sealed wrappings may be provided to each person at the table for hygiene reasons, but these are often ignored.
In Britain, hookahs are very rarely seen in Indian restaurants and are most commonly found in Lebanese restaurants and Egyptian-run "hubbly-bubbly" bars. Concentrations of these hookah establishments are often found in close proximity to University campuses, as on Rusholme's Curry mile in Manchester or in Oxford, and they cater to a mixture of British and Middle-Eastern clientèle amongst students. A ban on public smoking was enacted in Scotland in 2006, and a similar ban will take effect in England in April 2007. The effect of these laws on hookah bars is not yet clear. There are many of these hookah cafe's, run by Arabians, Egyptians or Pakistanis/Indians and the price for one session of hookah smoking ranges from £4.00 a session to £15.00 a session.
Hookah smoking has also risen in popularity in Germany, particularly in Berlin and Cologne, where many hookah bars exist due in part to a relatively large Turkish population. Hookahs are also very easy to acquire. During the 2006 World Cup, many booths in the area outside of the Zoologischer Garten Bahnhof specialized in selling the water-pipes and flavored tobacco. In addition, many people create homemade hookahs due to the relative ease of construction and the high cost of a quality pipe. Hooka (locally called Shisha) bars are even commonly found in towns with just 100,000 inhabitants.
In Sweden, hookah smoking is on the rise. Cheap hookahs and hookah-related products, like tobacco and charcoal, is now available in the many kiosk-like businesses run by immigrants, mostly of middle-eastern origin, found in the larger cities. Hookahs are mostly used by teenagers and immigrants, but the use is slowly becoming more widespread. Hookah bars and similar establishments are still very rare though, in part due to anti-smoking laws.
Asia
In Asia, particularly South and South East Asia the hookah is becoming better known, and cafés and restaurants that offer it as a consumable are popular.
In Pakistan, hookah smoking has become a trendy social activity in which youth can legally partake. Numerous hookah bars exist in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Faisalabad. Normally the ambiance is dominated by Punjabi bhangra, Turkish music or arabic music and deliberately oriental interior decoration. Younger tourists or expatriates in Pakistan can often be found "chill-marring" in such establishments.
In India, for example, hookah smoking was popularized by a small cafe in central India called Mr. Beans in the city of Indore. Because of its success, cafés began to spring up all over metropolitan India. Malaysia too has seen an increase in sheesha use and cafes offering sheesha pipes.[4] In the Philippines, the popularity is vastly growing, in the capital's most cosmopolitan city, Makati, various high-end bars and clubs offer hookahs to patrons. In Afganistan, hookah has also started to become popular especially in Kabul.
Although hookah use has been common for hundreds of years and enjoyed by people of all ages, it has just begun to become a youth-oriented pastime in Asia in recent times. Hookahs are most popular with college students and teenagers, who may be underage and thus unable to purchase cigarettes.[5]
South Africa
In South Africa, hookah, colloquially known as a hubbly bubbly, is popular amongst the Cape Malay, Indian and black population, where it is smoked as a social past-time.[6] But is increasing in popularity with whites, especially the youth. Hookah bars are relatively uncommon, and smoking is normally done at home or in public spaces such as beaches and picnic sites.
Style and health
A review published in the medical journal Pediatrics found that the concentration of cancer-causing and addictive substances in water-pipes may be equal to those found in cigarettes, with the heat involved being sufficient to generate carcinogenic nitrosamines, and the smoldering charcoal adding some carcinogenic hydrocarbons as well as heavy metals to the smoke.[7] Similarly, a study in the November 2005 issue of the Journal of Periodontology found that the impact of water pipe smoking is equivalent in magnitude to that of cigarette smoking.[8] Allegedly, use of the hookah may increase the smoker's toxic exposure, in that studies have shown that the typical hookah smoker spends more time per smoking session exposed to the smoke than do other smokers, presumably because the smoke is less immediately harsh or irritating. Thomas Eissenberg, a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University co-authored a review on hookah smoking[2] which found that a session of hookah smoking which lasts about 45 minutes, delivers 36 times more tar, 15 times more carbon monoxide and 70% more nicotine than a single cigarette.[9] Generally, a cigarette will last no more than 5 minutes, which makes approximately 9 cigarettes in order to compare to the 45 minutes hookah session. The effects of the higher temperature at the tip of the cigarette as opposed to while smoking Shisha are unresearched. A study in the Journal of Periodontology found that hookah smokers were five times more likely than non-smokers to have signs of gum disease.[citation needed] This is of concern to doctors in North America, as 86% of colleges and universities have at least one hookah lounge within close proximity[citation needed].
Other researchers have raised objections to the methods used in these studies, most notably Kamal Chaouachi, author of early comprehensive writings on the subject [3]. Oliver Clarke also said he is ready to participate in a debate[4]. The quick-lighting charcoal used by many hookah smokers may be an additional hazard, because it is assumed that it produces greater levels of carbon monoxide and other dangerous substances than standard charcoal (though this has not been demonstrated and needs further research). The quick-lighting charcoal is produced by mixing powdered charcoal with various chemicals such as potassium nitrate, that allow it to be quickly and easily ignited.
See also
References
- ^ "Nargile". mymerhaba.
- ^ Booth, Martin. Cannabis: A History. London: Bantam, 2004. p. 65.
- ^ Memoirs of William Hickey (Vol. II ed.). London: Hurst & Blackett. 1918. pp. p. 136.
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has extra text (help) - ^ http://www.tobacco.org/articles/country/malaysia/?code=malaysia&pattern=shisha
- ^ http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5520a2.htm
- ^ Hubble-bubble as cafes go up in smoke
- ^ Barry Knishkowy and Yona Amitai (2005). "Water-Pipe (Narghile) Smoking: An Emerging Health Risk Behavior". Pediatrics 2005; 116.
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(help) - ^ "Avoid The Hookah And Save Your Teeth". American Academy of Periodontology. November 10, 2005.
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(help) - ^ "Hookah trend is puffing along". USA Today. December 28, 2005.
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