Introduction
Hookah refers to an oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where smoke cools by passing through water (Miller, 2006). Hookah often applies in smoldering flavored tobacco known as Shisha. A physician from Persia used water in a bowl to purify and cool smoke, thus inventing hookah.
The physician applied this approach while in an Indian court. Therefore, hookah originated from India and Persia. Hookah has existed in the Middle East region for over four centuries, and it is slowly gaining popularity and acceptance among various societies across the world especially in America, Europe, and some parts of Africa (Miller, 2006). Hookah smoking is very common in the Middle East, and has come to identify as part of their culture.
It has become their culture through activities such as social smoking where people smoke from a common hookah with multiple hooks. Some hookahs have one hook but people smoke together by sharing the single hook in turns. This activity is very regular and has become a tradition among most communities not only in the Middle East, but also in the Arabian world (Miller, 2006).
Cafes are the common meeting points for these activities because they offer Shisha. People who come for exile in the Middle East use cafes as pubs because no other facilities encourage social gatherings.
In other regions of the world where hookah smoking is slowly gaining popularity, smoking of Shisha in public is highly prohibited. This is because of the influence on high school and college students who are increasingly using hookah to smoke (Miller, 2006). Hookah has numerous components that make it appealing to smokers. Hookah has numerous health related effects on those who use it.
Components of a Hookah
A hookah has eight components that play different roles, but only a few are essential for it to function. The first component is a bowl (Lytton, 2001). The bowl, which acts as the head, is made of clay. The function of the bowl is to ensure that coal and tobacco maintain their positions during smoking.
Tobacco is usually loaded into the bowl and covered. Bowls have various variations with designs that hold up tobacco fluids from reaching the stem. The second component is a windscreen (Lytton, 2001). This part is located on top of the bow and contains small holes for aeration. The purpose of the windscreen is to regulate the burning of tobacco, and coal temperatures. The windscreen also prevents ashes from blowing out of the hookah, as well as reducing the risk of fire if burning coal falls out.
The third component of a hookah is the hose (Lytton, 2001). A hose refers to a lean and supple tube from which smoke draws, cools and finally inhaled. The hose end has different designs and notable differences in size, color, shape, and fabric applied. Another component of a hookah is a purge valve. This applies as an outlet for unused smoke that fills the hookah. This outlet allows flow of smoke in a single direction because gravity seals the valve.
The other component of a hookah is a water jar (Lytton, 2001). This is located at the bottom of the hookah and acts as a base. Smoke in the hookah goes through the body and foams all the way through the water jar where purification and cooling of the smoke takes place. Apart from water, liquids such as fruit juice serve the same purpose in the jar. Another key component of a hookah is the plate that serves as an ashtray (Lytton, 2001).
In normal smoking, people use an ashtray to collect ashes that fall off burnt tobacco. The plate is located underneath the bowl where combustion of coal takes place. The other component of a hookah is grommets. Grommets are fasteners consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole that permits the attachment of cords. They help in regulating the air entering the pot, as well as the amount of smoke inhaled by a smoker.
The last component of a hookah is a diffuser (Lytton, 2001). A diffuser attaches to the stem at the bottom to break the bubbles produced when smoke foams trough the water jar. These components play a crucial role in the efficiency of the hookah as many people across the world are increasingly using it for smoking tobacco.
Hookah Flavors
There are numerous hookah flavors used by different groups of people across the world. Apple is one of the earliest and most popular hookah flavors (Graves, 2000). This flavor is good for a beginner due to its wide usage and the refreshing taste it leaves on the user. Another common flavor is mint usually mixed with ice base and rose water. The catchy thing about this flavor is the double feeling of freshness and coolness in the mouth whenever someone uses it.
The third flavor is bubblegum. Just like its name, the flavor has the awesome aroma of bubblegum that motivates someone to smoke it. Another characteristic of this flavor that draws many smokers is the high volumes of smoke it produces when combusted (Graves, 2000). Pan Rasna is another flavor common among smokers.
This flavor is different because it requires proper segmentation compared to other flavors. This is because of the complimentary components such as mint or kiwi. Grape is another hookah flavor that commonly applies among smokers (Graves, 2000). The great taste of grapes generates great interests in this flavor. Grape leaves often apply in the water jar as complementary components or substitutes. Mango flavor is also common among hookah users.
Mango is a common fruit that people consume regularly, and enjoy doing it. Thus, people love to maintain the connection they have with the fruit through their social activities like smoking (Graves, 2000). This flavor has a fresh and sweet farm taste that makes it very appealing. Fig flavor is among the least common used flavors. This is because its taste is not great as it feels like a combination of the other flavors.
In most social cafes of the Middle East, where social smoking is a cultural identity, this flavor is least purchased by people. The last hookah flavor is strawberry (Graves, 2000). This flavor is tobacco friendly because its taste blends perfectly with smoke purified and cooled in a standardized manner. This flavor leaves a natural fruity taste in the mouth of a smoker thus creating a fulfilling and exciting after- feeling.
Harmful Effects of Hookah
Smoking is slowly turning out to be a normal social activity. Hookah has continued to receive worldwide acknowledgement and recognition amid some of the risks associated with it (Greene, 2012).
The trend of smoking tobacco iced and dispended through water pipes poses many health risks, especially to the young generation of students who are slowly catching up with the trend. According to a health report published by the world health organization in 2005, using hookahs is a health risk tied to trying to replace smoking of cigarettes (Greene, 2012).
This usually applies due to volumes of smoke inhaled from a hookah, compared to other forms of smoking where little volumes of smoke apply. Continued use of hookah will increase the health risks to users due to the chemical elements contained in smoke. This information is scary bearing in mind that the habit is slowly growing among college students. Hookah smoking is a worldly recognized and accepted social experience (Cohen, 2010).
Due to the manner in which multiple individuals smoke from one hookah using a single hoses, the hygiene related risks that smokers expose themselves to are very costly and dangerous. From a public health perspective, this trend is quite disturbing (Anderson, 2010). Hookah smoking can lead to nicotine addiction. Application of a hookah entails profound inhaling of tobacco smoke from the tank, recurrent wheezing, and prolonged sessions that deliver more nicotine compared to other forms of smoking.
Another harmful effect of hookah smoking is the risk of different cancer types and normal functioning of lungs (Greene, 2012). This risk is equally distractive among male and female users of hookah. Smoke from cigarettes contains certain chemical elements that cause different types of cancer.
Users of hookah are at higher risk of cancer due to large volumes of smoke inhaled from a hookah, compared to other forms of smoking. Hookah smoking also causes fertility complications among female users (Cohen, 2010). Although medics have never recommended smoking especially for pregnant women, most of them start doing it from as early as high school and college levels, thus putting themselves at risks of infertility when they desire to start their own families (Greene, 2012).
The American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention conducted numerous studies over the years in a bid to establish all the risks associated with hookah smoking. The first risk identified is heart diseases due to blockage of arteries in the heart by venomous smoke from hookah tobacco (Anderson, 2010). The second risk identified was infectious diseases because of sharing hookah pipes among different users.
This is a huge health risk because people can transfer diseases to other users through body liquids such as saliva. The third risk identified was respiratory challenges and retarded growth among children of women who used hookah for smoking (Greene, 2012). The children also had low birth weights compared to what babies of women who do not smoke record at birth. The fourth risk is associated to passive smokers who at a risk of all dangers posed by smoke from a hookah.
Passive smokers are individuals who live with or stay close to hookah smokers but do not engage in the activity on a primary basis (Greene, 2012). Medics all over the world have acknowledged the dangerous trend of hookah smoking, thus encouraging all regulation authorities to ensure limited access to the activity especially among the young generation.
The Myth of Healthy Hookah
Hookah smoking around the world is as old as over four centuries, and still applies in the modern generation (World Health Organization, 2007). Unlike in the past where the practice applied among old generation, the practice today is common among all age groups (Grisafe, 2012).
Many college students around the world try out hookah smoking compared to other types of smoking because of believing that all impurities contained in cigarette smoke filter out in the water jar. This myth about healthy hooker smoking has contributed to the continued popularity of the activity around the world. Hookah lounges are setting up along all major streets and avenues in the United States of America at an alarming rate.
The argument behind the myth is that polar molecules contained in water absorb the usually contaminated polarized molecules enclosed in smoke, thus eliminating any risk in the smoke inhaled (Grisafe, 2012). Due to different hookah flavors, most users end up addicted to the practice unaware of any health risks associated with the activity. The organic nature of components used in developing these flavors also creates beliefs of healthy smoking among hookah smokers.
However, studies have nullified the argument of this myth by showing that hookah smoke contains the same harmful chemical elements as other types of tobacco smoke (Grisafe, 2012). The studies also indicated that concentration levels of these elements are higher in hookah smoke compared to smoke from other methods of tobacco smoking.
Hookah smoking exposes users to the risk of hypoxia. Hypoxia is a condition in which blood supply to body cells is highly limited due to soaring carbon monoxide concentration levels in the body (Grisafe, 2012). High carbon monoxide concentration leads to a hangover characterized by dizziness, headaches, and difficulties in breathing.
Another fact that nullified the arguments presented by the myth is people hooking to hookah. Addictions have never applied as healthy outcomes of an activity. Hookah smoke contains nicotine, which creates huge potential for addiction (Grisafe, 2012).
Therefore, the myth of healthy hookah smoking does not provide any truth about the activity practiced across all generation in various parts of the world. Hookah smoking is a huge health risk to people who engage in the activity, and limited access to people engaging in it can make a huge contribution towards a healthier population (World Health Organization, 2007).
Conclusion
Smoking of hookah is very common in the Middle East, and applies as part of their culture. This activity is very regular and has become a tradition among most communities not only in the Middle East, but also in the Arabian world.
In other regions of the world where hookah smoking is slowly gaining popularity, smoking of Shisha in public is highly prohibited. A hookah has eight components that play different roles, but only a few are essential for it to operate.
There are numerous hookah flavors used by different group of people across the world. Hookah has continued to receive worldwide acknowledgement and recognition amid some of the risks associated with it.
The trend of smoking tobacco iced and dispended through water pipes poses many health risks, especially to the young generation of students who are slowly catching up with the trend (World Health Organization, 2007). Limiting people’s access for engaging hookah smoking can make a huge contribution towards a healthier population.
References
Anderson, E. (2010). Public Health Foundations: Concepts and Practices. California: Oxford Publishers.
Cohen, M. (2010). Changing Cultural Landscapes: How Are People and Their Communities Affected. New York: CENGAGE.
Graves, B. (2000). Tobacco Use. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Greene, G. (2012). The Harmful Effects of Hookah. Web.
Grisafe, M. (2012). Up in Smoke: The Myth of the Healthy Hookah. Web.
Lytton, G. (2001). Over the Hookah: The Tales of a Talkative Doctor. New York: Cengage Learning.
Miller, C. (2006). Hookah. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
World Health Organization. (2007). The Scientific Basis of Tobacco Product.