I do enjoy smoking shisha, or whatever is in the bowl, be it herbal shisha, tobacco shisha, or the strange smokable stones that may or may not become more popular in the future. Nonetheless, the question was bound to come up: Is smoking hookah bad for you? Well, it's a more complex question than you think.
First of all, you've got to consider all of the different kinds of things that can be smoked out of a hookah. Is it herbal? Is it tobacco based? There are some things with high nicotine content, others with low. One thing is for sure:
While about 5,000 chemicals have been identified so far in cigarette smoke, chemists and pharmacologists from Saudi Arabia only found 142 chemicals in shisha smoke. Shisha is, therefore, at the very least better than cigarettes. As for herbal shisha and the stones, I'm not entirely sure -- but I do think that they lack nicotine.
Another concern in what you're putting in the vase. Water is fine, of course -- it's water. Soda, alcohol, and juice, however, may be less healthy to use. I personally would only use water in the vase; the others are much more risky, in my opinion.
The biggest problem with hookah smoking, and one that can't be avoided, is the fact that you're inhaling something that goes through metal and, sometimes, plastic or rubber. Obviously you aren't literally taking bites out of a block of lead or steel, but some small residue may come through. If a hookah company has, for some reason, decided to use lead in the making of the hookah, there is a chance you'll breathe that in.
Obviously, smoking anything is pretty unhealthy. However, one or even ten sessions a week will probably not effect you much. You probably won't get cancer; you probably won't get bronchitis.
According to the World Health Organization, smoking a bowl of shisha gives you smoke equivalent to 100-200 cigarettes. I won't disagree that the smoke output may be at that level. Still, if you sat someone down and forced them to smoke a bowl of shisha, they would be fine after that session; sit the same person down and force them to smoke 100 cigarettes without a break, and they'll most likely become sick. They might not even be able to do it. That in itself says something.
I won't pretend that hookah smoking is healthy. It's obviously not. There are, however, ways to minimize the dangers presented to your body:
- Smoke herbal shisha. This ensures that you'll not be taking in the nicotine that, though small, is present in tobacco. If you don't like herbal shisha, that's fine; just remember that herbal is healthier.
- Only use water in the vase. Anything else can be potentially hazardous to your health.
- Don't smoke too much! Smoking for five hours or more is probably bad for you, regardless of what you smoke.
- Check what the hookah company made the hookah out of. Is there lead? Probably not a good idea to buy that one.
- Use a larger hookah. The smoke will be less intense.
- Don't smoke anything to accompany hookah smoke. My girlfriend has a cigarette before she enters the hookah bar we frequent, and she has at least two after. That's just not healthy.
Keep these things in mind and know that, while smoking will never be healthy, you can do things to ensure that your smoking experience is at the very least healthier than another person's. And please, even though you may be curious, don't smoke 100-200 cigarettes in a row; it will ruin you.
Happy smoking!
