Hookahs are the Latest Hipster Thing

Waterpipes, or Hookahs, are a growing trend among many smokers. And Hookah Lounges are being flocked to by the college crowd who are often to old to sit in their dorms but to young to drink. The music is ambient, Middle Eastern and anything mellow. Often there is a variety of food and drink to aid the social atmosphere. From exotic baked goods to chai drinks to the ever appropriate Turkish coffee. Patrons sit on pillows or seats low to the ground. The centerpiece on the table is the hookah itself. Standing over a foot and a half in height, these wonders of blown glass and metal evoke a scene from the Tales of the Arabian Nights.

Menus offering a variety of tobacco products are handed out. The variety of choices are astounding including fruit flavors, vanilla, mint, chocolate, mint chocolate, coconut, bubble gum and even gummy bear flavors. Hookahs are either single or multi-stemmed, the smoke is cooled by water which the patrons of lounge have only to enjoy and not clean. The exhaled smoke is quite clean – the water filtration leaves less than 1% of the nicotine left over for non-smokers to inhales, while cigarette smoke has 14% nicotine content. This is why in many cities hookah lounges are exempt from smoking ban laws.

In most lounges, host or hostess will go around to each table making sure the embers that keep the hookahs going are lit. The atmosphere is welcoming, laid-back and social. Not all hookah lounges cater to just the youth. Slightly older crowds are choosing to take their date to the more romantic atmosphere of the hookah lounge over the loud bar or dance club of days of yore. In fact, from New York City to Los Angeles, upscale professionals can be found “hookahing” in much more stylish smoking cafes. They are a great way to wind down from a long day at the office.

Hookahs are known by a variety of names. Hookah is what we most commonly call the elegant waterpipes. They are also known as shishas or narghiles. Narghile actually means coconut. Back in the mid 16th century coconuts were mounted on silver and used to smoke a variety tobacco, cannabis or opium products. A primitive form of a hookah (a bowl of water) was used by a Persian physician to cool smoke used at the court of the Mughal emperor around the same time. Wooden hookahs made from a single piece of wood but carved with intricate designs, called ghelune, quickly made their way across Persia Women even had their own ghelunes which they used in their homes. Brass, glass and hand painted designs were added to make the hookah an even more elegant device to be used by the upper class, philosophers and other intellectuals of the age. About 300 years ago, Turkish coffee bars became popular. Flavors were added to tobacco and the use of the hookah spread to Morocco where it was called shisha. Most hookah smoking countries serve Naklia shisha. Naklia shisha is a combination of foreign tobaccos, honey molasses and dried fruit. The way to smoke from a hookah has changed very little over the past 500 years. Tobacco is compressed into a bowl that sits atop of a vertical metal stem and is ignited by charcoal. The resulting smoke is drawn down through the tube into a glass bowl half filled with cool water. The smoke is filtered by the water before being drawn out into a flexible tube that can be passed around.

There are rules of etiquette to smoking from a hookah:

Point the hookah hose toward yourself when passing it around.

Never blow smoke in another person’s face, unless they want smoke blown in their face.

Do not blow into the hookah when other people are sharing a hookah with you.

Never light a regular cigarette using the hookah charcoal.

When you have finished using the hookah, be sure to either wrap it around the shaft or place it back on the hook attached to the shaft.

Live music, more food and a place you can still smoke – hookah lounges and cafes are here to stay.