Story · September 25, 2015
Do you know what is the Hookah?
A hookah (Persian: قلیان [qalyān]; Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari) حقّہ (Nastaleeq)[hukkā], ḥuqqah, Hukić—also known as a waterpipe, narghile, arghila, qalyān, shisha, or by other names) is a single or multi-stemmed instrument for vaporizing and smoking flavored tobacco called shisha in which the vapor or smoke is passed through a water basin—often glass-based—before inhalation. Health risks of smoking hookah include exposure to toxic chemicals that are not filtered out by the water and risk of infectious disease when hookahs are shared. The origin of the waterpipe is from the time of the Safavid dynasty in Persia (Iran),from where it eventually spread to the east into India during that time. The hookah or Argyleh also soon reached Egypt and the Levant during the Ottoman dynasty from neighbouring Safavid Iran, where it became very popular and where the mechanism was later perfected. The word hookah is a derivative of “huqqa”, an Arabic term. Outside its native region, smoking the hookah has gained popularity in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Tanzania, and South Africa, largely due to immigrants from the Levant, where it is especially popular, who introduce it to younger people.
Argilah or Argileh (Arabic: نارجيلة but sometimes pronounced Argileh or Argilee) is the name most commonly used in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Israel, Uzbekistan and Iraq. Nargile derives from the Persian word nārghile, meaning coconut, which in turn is from the Sanskrit word nārikela (नारिकेल), suggesting that early hookahs were hewn from coconut shells. In Albania, the hookah is called “lula” or “lulava”.
In Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Bulgaria, na[r]gile (на[р]гиле; from Persian nargile) is used to refer to the pipe. Šiša (шиша) refers to the tobacco that is smoked in it.[citation needed] The pipes there often have one or two mouth pieces. The flavored tobacco, created by marinating cuts of tobacco in a multitude of flavored molasses, is placed above the water and covered by pierced foil with hot coals placed on top, and the smoke is drawn through cold water to cool and filter it.
“Narguile” is the common word in Spain used to refer to the pipe, although “cachimba” is also used, along with “shisha” by Moroccan immigrants in Spain.
Sheesha (شيشة), from the Persian word shīshe (شیشه), meaning glass, is the common term for the hookah in Egypt, Sudanand countries of the Arab Peninsula (including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Yemen and Saudi Arabia), and in Algeria, Morocco, Greece, Tunisia and Somalia.[citation needed] In Yemen, the term mada’a is also used.
In Persia, hookah is called “Qalyān” (Persian:Qalyān). Persian qalyan is included in the earliest European compendium on tobacco, the tobacolgia written by Johan Neander and published in Dutch in 1622. It seems that over time water pipes acquired a Persian connotation as in eighteenth-century Egypt the most fashionable pipes were called Karim Khan after the Persian ruler of the day. This is also the name used in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
In Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, a hookah is called chillim. In Pakistan the name most similar to the English hookah is used huqqa. In Maldives, hookah is called Gudugudaa. In Philippines, hookah is called “Hitboo” and normally used in smoking flavored marijuana. The hookah pipe is also known as the “Marra pipe” in the UK, especially in the North East, where it is used for recreational purposes.
The widespread use of the Indian word “hookah” in the English language is a result of the British Raj, the British dominion of India (1858–1947), when large numbers of expatriate Britons first sampled the water pipe. William Hickey, shortly after arriving in Kolkata, India, in 1775, wrote in his Memoirs:
According to Cyril Elgood (PP.41, 110) in India the physician Irfan Shaikh, at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar I (1542 – 1605 AD) invented the idea. However, a quatrain of Ahlī Shirazi (d. 1535), a Persian poet, refers to the use of the ḡalyān (Falsafī, II, p. 277; Semsār, 1963, p. 15), thus dating its use at least as early as the time of the Shah Ṭahmāsp I. It seems, therefore, that Abu’l-Fath Gilani should be credited with the introduction of the ḡalyān, already in use in Persia, into India. There is, however, no evidence of the existence of the water pipe until the 1560s. Moreover, tobacco is believed to have reached Persia around 1600, so that suggests another substance was probably smoked in Ahlī Shirazi’s quatrain, perhaps through some other method.
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Gaddi village men with hookah, on mountain path near Dharamsala, India. Wikipedia
Following the European introduction of tobacco to Persia and India, Hakim Abu’l-Fath Gilani, who came from Gilan, a province in the north of Persia, migrated to Hamarastan. He later became a physician in the Mughal court and raised health concerns after smoking tobacco became popular among Indian noblemen. He subsequently envisaged a system which allowed smoke to be passed through water in order to be ‘purified’. Gilani introduced the ḡalyān after Asad Beg, the ambassador of Bijapur, encouraged Akbar I to take up smoking. Following popularity among noblemen, this new device for smoking soon became a status symbol for the Indian aristocracy and gentry.
Instead of copper, brass and low quality alloys manufacturers increasingly use stainless steel and aluminium. Silicone rubbercompounds are used for hookah hoses instead of leather and wire. New materials make modern hookahs more durable, eliminate odors while smoking and allow washing without risks of corrosion or bacterial decay. New technologies and modern design trends are changing the appearance of hookahs.
Despite obvious benefits of modern hookahs, because of high production cost and lack of modern equipment in traditional hookah manufacturing regions, most of the hookahs are still produced with older technologies.
In the Middle East and Arab world, people smoke waterpipe as part of their culture and traditions. Social smoking is done with a single or double hose hookah, and sometimes even triple or quadruple hose hookahs in the forms of parties or small get-togethers are used. When the smoker is finished, either the hose is placed back on the table signifying that it is available, or it is handed from one user to the next, folded back on itself so that the mouthpiece is not pointing at the recipient. Local names of waterpipe in the middle east are, ghalyan or ḡalyān, shisha, argila, nargile, nafas, ḥoqqa, čelam/čelīm)
Most cafés in the Middle East offer shishas. Cafés are widespread and are amongst the chief social gathering places in the Arab world (akin to public houses in Britain).
The exact date of the first use of ḡalyān in Persia is not known. Although the Safavid Shah ʿAbbās I strongly condemned tobacco use, towards the end of his reign smoking ḡalyān and čopoq (q.v.) had become common on every level of the society, women included. In schools, both teachers and students had ḡalyāns while lessons continued (Falsafī, II, pp. 278–80). Shah Safi of Persia (r. 1629-42) declared a complete ban on tobacco, but the income received from its use persuaded him to soon revoke the ban. The use of ḡalyāns became so widespread that a group of poor people became professional tinkers of crystal water pipes. During the time of Abbas II of Persia (r. 1642-1666), use of the water pipe had become a national addiction (Chardin, tr., II, p. 899). The shah (king) had his own private ḡalyān servants. Evidently the position of water pipe tender (ḡalyāndār) dates from this time. Also at this time, reservoirs were made of glass, pottery, or a type of gourd. Because of the unsatisfactory quality of indigenous glass, glass reservoirs were sometimes imported from Venice (Chardin, tr., II, p. 892). In the time of Suleiman I of Persia (r. 1694-1722), ḡalyāns became more elaborately embellished as their use increased. The wealthy owned gold and silver pipes. The masses spent more on ḡalyāns than they did on the necessities of life (Tavernier apud Semsār, 1963, p. 16).
An emissary of Sultan Husayn (r.1722-32) to the court of Louis XV of France, on his way to the royal audience at Versailles, had in his retinue an officer holding his ḡalyān, which he used while his carriage was in motion (Herbette, tr. p. 7; Kasrawī, pp. 211–12; Semsār, 1963, pp. 18–19). We have no record indicating the use of ḡalyān at the court of Nader Shah, although its use seems to have continued uninterrupted. There are portraits of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty of Iran and Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar which depict them smoking the ḡalyān. Iranians had a special tobacco called Khansar (خانسار, presumably name of the origin city, Khvansar). The charcoals would be put on the Khansar without foil. Khansar has less smoke than the normal tobacco.
Saudi Arabia is in the process of implementing general smoking bans in public places. This includes shishah. Additionally, the city of Riyadh has banned shisha cafes within city limits.
Although perceived to be an important cultural feature of Syria (see Smoking in Syria), narghile had declined in popularity during most of the twentieth century and was used mostly by older men. Similar to other Middle Eastern countries, its use increased dramatically during the 1990s, particularly among youth and young adults. As of 2004, prior to the Syrian Civil War, 17% of 18-29 year olds, 10% of 30-45 year olds, and 6% of 46-65 year olds reported using narghile, and use was higher in men than women. More recent data is not available.
Nargile became part of Turkish culture from the 17th century. Back then, it became prominent in society and was used as a status symbol. Nargile was such an important Turkish custom that it even sparked a diplomatic crisis between France and the Ottoman Empire. Western Turkey is noted for its traditional pottery production where potters make earthenware objects, including nargile bowls.
Bedouin smoking a hookah, locally called nargileh, in a coffeehouse in Deir ez-Zor, on the Euphrates, 1920s. Wikipedia
During the 1960s and 1970s, hookahs were a popular tool for the consumption of various derivations of tobacco, among other things. At parties or small gatherings the hookah hose was passed around with users partaking as they saw fit. Typically, though, open flames were used instead of burning coals.
Today, hookahs are readily available for sale at smoke shops and some gas stations across the United States, along with a variety of tobacco brands and accessories. In addition to private hookah smoking, hookah lounges or bars have opened in cities across the country.
Recently, certain cities, counties, and states have implemented indoor smoking bans. In some jurisdictions, hookah businesses can be exempted from the policies through special permits. Some permits, however, have requirements such as the business earning a certain minimum percentage of their revenue from alcohol or tobacco. In cities with indoor smoking bans, hookah bars have been forced to close or switch to tobacco-free mixtures. In many cities though, hookah lounges have been growing in popularity. From the year 2000 to 2004, over 200 new hookah cafés opened for business, most of them targeted at young adults and located near college campuses or cities with large Middle-Eastern communities. This activity continues to gain popularity within the post-secondary student demographic. Hookah use among high school students rose from 4.1% to 9.4% from 2011 to 2014 while cigarette smoking decreased from 15.8% to 9.2% during this same time period, according to the US CDC. According to a 2011 study, 40.3 percent of college and university students surveyed had smoked tobacco from a hookah. As of 8 July 2013, at least 1,178 college or university campuses in the U.S. have adopted 100% smokefree campus policies that eliminate smoking in indoor and outdoor areas across the entire campus, including residences.
Excluding grommets, a hookah consists of a number of components, four of which are essential for its operation.
Also known as the head of the hookah, the bowl is a container, usually made out of clay, marble, or glass that holds the coal and tobacco during the smoking session. The bowl is loaded with tobacco then covered by a screen or perforated aluminum foil. Lit coals are then placed on top, which allows the tobacco to heat to the proper temperature.
A Hookah Cover windscreen is a cover which sits over the bowl area, with some form of air holes. This prevents wind from increasing the burn rate and temperature of the coal, and prevents ash and burning embers from being blown onto the surrounding environment. This may also offer some limited protection from fire as it may prevent the coal from being ejected if the hookah is bumped.
Technically, if the pipe has a hose, it is not a “hookah”, the term historically referred to a straight-neck tube. Today, the hose (one or more) is a slender flexible tube that allows the smoke to be drawn for a distance, cooling down before inhalation. The end is typically fitted with a metal, wooden, or plastic mouthpiece of different shapes, size, color or material type. According to J.S. Gamble in A Manual of Indian Timbers in 1902 (Page 668), the bark of the white Himalayan birch Betula utilis ssp. jacquemontii was used to make early hookah tubes.
Many hookahs are equipped with a purge valve connected to the airspace in the water jar to purge stale smoke which has been sitting unused in the jar for too long. This one-way valve is typically a simple ball bearing sitting over a port which seals the port by gravity alone and will open if positive pressure is created by blowing into the hose. The bearing is held captive with a screw-on cover. The cover should be opened and the bearing and seat cleaned of residue and corrosion regularly to ensure proper sealing.
The body of the hookah sits on top of the water base, or sometimes referred to as vase. The downstem hangs down below the level of the water in the jar. Smoke passes through the body and out the downstem where it bubbles through the water. This cools and humidifies the smoke. Liquids such as fruit juice may be added to the water or used in substitution. Pieces of fruit, mint leaves, and crushed ice may be added.
A plate or ashtray sits just below the bowl to catch ashes falling off the coals.
Grommets in a hookah are usually placed between the bowl and the body, between the body’s gasket and the water jar, and between the body and the hose. The grommets, although not essential (the use of paper or tape has become common), will help to seal the joints between the parts, therefore decreasing the amount of air coming in and maximizing the smoke breathed in.
A piece attached to the bottom of the stem, usually made of plastic and in a grid pattern, to make a smoother smoke and a subdued noise. By breaking the naturally larger bubbles coming up the water from the pipe into smaller bubbles, it lowers the amount of suction or “pull” needed to continue bringing smoke to the chamber. This also cools the smoke down more efficiently. It is used as a luxury item used for a better smoking experience and is not a required component.
A package of Al Fakher watermelon flavored hookah tobacco.
Tobacco or Mu‘assel (Arabic: معسل which means “honeyed”), also sometimes called Shisha in places where it does not refer to the Hookah itself, is a syrupy tobacco mix with molasses and vegetable glycerol as moisturizer and specific flavors added to it. Typical flavors of mu‘assel include apple, grape, guava, lemon, mint, as well as many other fruit based mixes. Non-tobacco-based mu’assel is also available in certain areas where tobacco smoking is not allowed.
Charcoal is the source of energy to produce heat that will be transferred to the tobacco inside the bowl. Since the glycerol is used to moisturize the tobacco, then to produce smoke, the charcoal should be able to generate heat above the boiling point of glycerol that is 290 °C. Therefore, charcoal for hookah smoking must be hard, high density, easy to ignite, and burn longer with persistent heat.
The jar at the bottom of the hookah is filled with water sufficient to submerge a few centimeters of the body tube, which is sealed tightly to it. Deeper water will only increase the inhalation force needed to use it. Tobacco or tobacco-free molasses are placed inside the bowl at the top of the hookah. Often the bowl is covered with perforated tin foil or a metal screen and coal placed on top. The foil or screen separates the coal and the tobacco, which minimizes inhalation of coal ash with the smoke and reduces the temperature the tobacco is exposed to, in order to prevent burning the tobacco directly.
When one inhales through the hose, air is pulled through the charcoal and into the bowl holding the tobacco. The hot air, heated by the charcoal vaporizes the tobacco without burning it. The vapor is passed down through the body tube that extends into the water in the jar. It bubbles up through the water, losing heat, and fills the top part of the jar, to which the hose is attached. When a smoker inhales from the hose, smoke passes into the lungs, and the change in pressure in the jar pulls more air through the charcoal, continuing the process.
If the hookah has been lit and smoked but has not been inhaled for an extended period, the smoke inside the water jar may be regarded as “stale” and undesirable. Stale smoke may be exhausted through the purge valve, if present. This one-way valve is opened by the positive pressure created from gently blowing into the hose. It will not function on a multiple-hose hookah unless all other hoses are plugged. Sometimes one-way valves are put in the hose sockets to avoid the need to manually plug hoses.
When people share a hookah, there is a risk of spreading infections diseases such as oral herpes, tuberculosis, hepatitis, influenza, and h. pylori. Using disposable mouthpieces may reduce this risk but does not eliminate it.
Hookah smoke contains multiple toxic chemicals. Water does not filter out many of these chemicals. Hookah smoke contains toxic chemicals that come from the burning of the charcoal, tobacco, and flavorings. Hookah smokers inhale many chemicals that can cause cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and other health problems. These chemicals include tobacco-specific nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; e.g., benzo[a]pyrene and anthracene), volatile aldehydes (e.g. formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein), benzene, nitric oxide, heavy metals (arsenic, chromium, lead), and carbon monoxide (CO). Hookah smoking increases the amount of carbon monoxide (CO) in a person’s body to eight times their normal level. Compared to smoking one cigarette, a single hookah session exposes users to more carbon dioxide and PAHs, similar levels of nicotine, and lower levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines. Because of inhaling these chemicals, hookah smokers are at increased risk of many of the same health problems as cigarette smokers.
Carbon monoxide (CO) in hookah smoke binds to hemoglobin in the blood to form carboxyhemoglobin, which reduces the amount of oxygen that can be transported to organs including the brain. There are several case reports in the medical literature of hookah smokers needing treatment in hospital emergency rooms for symptoms of CO poisoning including headache, nausea, lethargy, and fainting. This is sometimes called “hookah sickness.” Hookah smoking can damage the cardiovascular system in several ways. Its use elevates heart rate and blood pressure.It a lso impairs baroreflex control (which helps to control blood pressure) and cardiac autonomic functioning (which has many purposes, including control of heart rate) Hookah use also acutely harms vascular functioning, increases inflammation, and harms lung function and reduces the ability to exercise.
Current evidence indicates hookah may cause numerous health problems. Hookah smoking appears to increase the risk of several cancers (lung, esophageal, and gastric), pulmonary diseases (impaired pulmonary function, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema), coronary artery disease, periodontal disease, obstetrical and perinatal problems (low birth weight and pulmonary problems at birth), larynx and voice changes, and osteoporosis. Many of the studies to date have methodological limitations, such as not measuring hookah use in a standardized way. Larger, high quality studies are needed to learn more about the long-term health effects of hookah use and of exposure to hookah smoke.
Second-hand smoke from hookahs contains significant amounts of carbon dioxide, aldehydes, PAHs, ultrafine particles, and respirable particulate matter (particles small enough to enter the lungs).[4] Study have found that concentrations of particulate matter in the air of hookah bars were in the unhealthy to hazardous range according to Environmental Protection Agency standards. The air in hookah bars also contains significant amounts of toxic chemicals including: aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nicotine, and trace metals. The concentrations in the air of all these toxic substances are greater than for cigarettes (for the same number of smokers per hour). During a typical one-hour hookah session, a user expels into the air 2-10 times the amount of cancer-causing chemicals and other harmful chemicals compared to a cigarette smoker. No studies have examined the long-term health effects of exposure to secondhand hookah smoke, but short term effects may include experience respiratory symptoms such as wheezing, nasal congestion, and chronic cough. Hookah bar employees, who often are exposed to toxic air for extended amounts of time, may be at especially high risk of health problems from secondhand smoke.
Hookah smokers inhale nicotine which is an addictive chemical. A typical hookah smoking session delivers 1.7 times the nicotine dose of one cigarette and the nicotine absorption rate in daily waterpipe users is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes per day. Many hookah smokers, especially frequent users, have urges to smoke and show other withdrawal symptoms after not smoking for some time, and it can be difficult to quit. These signs and symptoms of addiction and dependence are very similar to the signs of cigarette addiction. People who become addicted to hookah may be more likely to smoke alone. Hookah smokers who are addicted may find it easier to quit if they have help from a quit-smoking counseling program.
Source of information: Wikipedia