Who hasn’t been given a shisha pipe after a friend or family member visited the Middle East? The novelty may only be to some as shisha or hookah pipe smoking is common in all countries in the Middle East. My friend’s grandmother from Iran would smoke in her late 90s after dinner, despite convention and new research saying that fruit-flavoured shisha tobacco is as bad or worse than regular tobacco.

In the world of pods and convenience, a company has developed a new kind of shisha, one that uses pre-loaded fruit tobacco and no charcoal is needed. The device is called Ooka and can be bought in the United Arab Emirates along with “Criminally awesome flavors” that it “borders on criminal” advertises the gadget’s website.

In the world of pods and convenience, a company has developed a new kind of shisha, one that uses pre-loaded fruit tobacco and no charcoal is needed. Each pod delivers one session that can last up to 70 minutes depending on the intensity of the session.

You can pause the session for up to 10 minutes.

Lemon with mint, grape with mint, lemon, pear, candy, guava, lime –- are some of the flavor options.

Read related: hand made ceramic hookah pipe

The only criminal smoking we have heard of in the UAE is cannabis smoking. Be careful that medical marijuana is not even in your bloodstream if you are planning a trip to Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

If you are planning on trying hookah or shisha for the first time –> Don’t read this. The BBC’s Claire Hammond  reported that since people end up smoking a shisha pipe for up to an hour, they end up taking 100 to 200 times more puffs than they would on a single cigarette.

The Ooka can be bought online for about $550 USD for the whole kit. Personal mouthpieces can be bought separate.

It is designed and developed in the UAE by a company called Air Global who hired Paul Dawson, a product engineer from Dyson.

::Ooka

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Smoking is still a big deal in the Middle East. Tel Aviv smokes like Paris in the 80s, and the hookah and shisha pipe is going strong in every city where the taste of apple tobacco makes you forget that the smoke is bad for your lungs. Vaping is pretty much everywhere in the world. Parents typically shoo the kids outside or smoke on the balcony but the residue from smoking can also do harm, finds a new study, citing third-hand smoke.

Thirdhand smoke is the presence of toxic tobacco by-products that remain on surfaces such as furniture, décor, walls and floors. It does not matter of the tobacco is organic. Some cultures like Native Americans may use tobacco for ceremonial purposes. 

In a new study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, researchers tested the surfaces in smoking households where children reside and found troubling results, says Ashley Merianos, a tobacco researcher at the University of Cincinnati who led the study.

Researchers found nicotine on surfaces in all of the children’s homes and detected the presence of a tobacco-specific carcinogen (called NNK) in nearly half of the homes, she says.  The study reported that the NNK levels on surfaces and vacuumed dust were similar, which Merianos says indicates that surfaces and dust can be similar reservoirs and sources of thirdhand smoke exposure for children.

“This is critically important and concerning, since NNK is considered the most potent carcinogen for tobacco-induced cancers,” says Merianos, an associate professor in UC’s School of Human Services.

Nicotine affects poorer families

• Children living in lower-income households had higher levels of NNK and nicotine found on home surfaces.
• Children living in homes that did not ban indoor smoking had higher levels of NNK and nicotine found on surfaces.

Merianos says that NNK and nicotine were still detected in homes with voluntary indoor smoking bans, which highlights the persistence of thirdhand smoke pollutants on surfaces in children’s homes: “This research highlights that home smoking bans do not fully protect children and their families from the dangers of tobacco,” she adds.

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Marijuana has become one of the most popular recreational activities for adults. Even growing in popularity for use as a holistic medicinal alternative to pharmaceutical medicines. You can find people from ages 21 to the elderly enjoying the therapeutic benefits of cannabis all over the globe where it’s legal from Canada to Israel.

Is It Healthier to Smoke a Joint or a Water Bong?

When it comes to smoking cannabis, many people assume that a water bong is the “healthier” option compared to a traditional joint. The truth is that both methods involve combustion, and therefore both expose the lungs to potentially harmful substances — though the experience and health effects differ slightly.

A joint burns cannabis rolled in paper. Each puff contains not only the psychoactive compound THC but also tar, carbon monoxide, and fine particulates that can irritate and damage lung tissue. Because joints lack filters and burn at a high temperature, users inhale more unfiltered smoke per puff. Studies have shown that regular joint smoking can lead to chronic bronchitis, coughing, and reduced lung function, even if the cannabis itself does not contain nicotine.

A water bong (or shisha or hookah pipe) on the other hand, pulls the smoke through water before inhalation. This process cools the smoke, making it smoother on the throat and lungs. However, the water removes only a small fraction of toxins and tar — far less than most people assume. The cooled smoke encourages deeper inhalation and longer breath-holding, which can actually increase overall exposure to carcinogens. Moreover, if the bong water or chamber isn’t cleaned frequently, it can harbor mold and bacteria that are inhaled directly into the lungs.

Health experts agree that while the bong may feel less harsh, neither method is safe. Any time cannabis is burned, toxic byproducts are produced and these byproducts can hurt your lungs and health. 

Safer alternatives include vaporizers and modern electric dab rigs, which heat cannabis below the combustion point, or edibles and tinctures, which eliminate smoke entirely.

In short, the difference between a joint and a bong is about comfort, not health. If your goal is harm reduction, avoiding combustion altogether is the best choice.

The history of cannabis and bongs

The history and use of bongs, while often associated with “potheads” who smoke and sit on the couch and eat munchies have been interwoven throughout human history. More than a decade ago when cannabis use was acceptable for the elderly for instance, there were few ways to dose and deliver the medicine quickly. For most people over 60 who haven’t smoked even a cigarette, accepting cannabis smoke by bong was the cleanest and easiest way. Over in Israel when I was visiting I met a woman who taught the elderly, with aches and pains, how to smoke using a water pipe, also known as a bong.

The oldest intact water pipes and bongs found are dated back to 400 B.C. And you can easily find them in the Middle East where they are used to smoke aromatic fruit tobacco. The first ones were constructed out of solid gold and used by the Scythians. Two have been found with the residue of cannabis still inside. Today, they are housed in a museum in Russia. 

These tools gave insight into the history behind cannabis use, also mentioned in the Bible. The word “bong” has been linked to the Thai language. It stems from the word baung, which is a cylindrical tube, pipe, or container that is cut from bamboo. This has also been used for smoking.

There are health benefits from smoking through a water bong compared to smoking from blunts, joints, or various metal objects such as pipes. The water in the bong, which must be cleaned frequently acts as a filtration system. As the herb is burned, suction is applied via inhalation from the mouthpiece of the bong. The smoke is then pulled into the base of the water pipe, where water purifies and cools the cannabis vapors.

Be sure to check reviews on different products to see what other customers are saying. Are people raving over this product always helps to know if something was built to last. Or maybe it is a custom one-of-a-kind piece that needs to be handled with care. Some glass blowers make customized pipes with colors you like and the size you need. How much something costs and if it is in an affordable price range is always good to know. 

Looking at various websites and seeing how they handle customer interactions is a must. If something arrives broken, will they allow it to be returned? Who can be contacted if a piece chips or breaks? Is something replaceable if something happens to it? All of these questions can generally be found on a businesses FAQ or Terms page. 

The Benefits of Using a Water Bong

The ease of use with water bongs is an excellent benefit of using this device for smoking marijuana. There is no mystery behind the flow and quickness involved in a bong. Simple glass bongs consist only of 3 parts with no technology or “app” involved, unlike the fancy vaporizer pens.

• The main body. This is where water will be filled into the base part of the bong. Sometimes ice cubes are also added for extra cooling effects. The mouthpiece is part of the long main tube leading away from the base.
• The downstem. Stems come in various sizes such as 10mm or 14mm. They also come in male and female; fixed and removable. When purchasing a water bong this will be something to look at. Also you will need to learn how to clean it and put it back together. But again, you won’t need to use any technology.
• The bowl. This will be where marijuana or CBD flowers will be added. There are a variety of different types of bowls that are artistic and functional. So even if a water pipe is made of simple and clear glass a touch of fun can be added in with a playful bowl.

Simple water bongs made of glass are also some of the easiest pieces to clean! Handwashing with the assistance of simple tube cleaners can make any bong as bright as new.

Types of Water Bongs

In the markets today, there are a variety of different types of bongs that are made from various materials. All have their benefits and features. This is great news as it gives more variety regarding budget and consumer tastes. 

The different types of bongs:

• Glass bongs – the standard practice of using bongs come from glass. These types offer the purest taste and come in a variety of prices, shapes, and sizes. However, most glass pieces can break easily, especially if dropped on a hard surface. But in terms of sterility, glass is second to none and that’s why glass is used in hospitals and laboratories. 
• Silicone bongs – are the easiest to clean, oftentimes being able to be put in the dishwasher. Positively unbreakable with the ability to handle high temperatures. Perfect for everyone.
• Ceramic bongs – ceramics are nice when searching for artistic flair to add to the smoking experience. These types of bongs are easily breakable, just like glass. They are less sterile as time moves on as water can enter the pores and cracks. 
• Acrylic bongs – are generally the cheapest type of bong. These pieces are crafted from acrylic plastic and get very hot which might not be healthy for you. Plastic and heat can be toxic. Even though these types are essentially impossible to break they do affect the taste and experience of smoking. 
• DIY bongs – this type of bong is mostly used when there is no other option. Oftentimes fashioned from plastic or glass bottles with the help of pots and pans. 
• Gravity bongs – These used to be DIY bongs, but now there are great gravity bongs for sale online.

There are also many additions to bongs. Including aesthetic features involving intricate designs by glass artisans too. Other additions that are crafted into the design of some bongs include; built-in ice cube catchers, recycle chambers, and percolators. Go ahead, be creative!

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There is no doubt about it: smoking is terrible business for your health. For the last 40 years western governments have waged aggressive educational campaigns aimed at youth to help them never start. A short trip to Paris and all the hard work of the American government is over. Young people everywhere seem to be smoking non-stop. And the idea of using nicotine and buying nicotine pouches picked up steam in Paris during Covid when one study indicated that nicotine can help treat Covid symptoms. So much that the French Government banned nicotine pouches — for fears that people who were not already smoking were buying them. 

A few things about smoking should be said: like every single thing in life moderation is the key. Chain smoking commercial brands with additives is a dangerous blend, like a diet of food high in fat, high in sugar. Smoking tobacco has been demonized by health organizations globally mainly because tobacco companies have hooked people on smoking the way companies have hooked us on Coca Cola and junk food. Much of it is by way of suggestive advertising. Smoke our brand and smoke more and you will be better looking, better off, happier. The truth is that smoking kills millions of people a year. So starting if you don’t know how to moderate might be the best approach. 

There might be other approaches to enjoying a cigarette without the toxins or with less toxins? 

Last time I was in Canada I met a First Nations chief from one of the Reservations in the north. He said that smoking tobacco can create world peace. Maybe it’s naive. But I listened to him. First Nation people and Aborginal People have many traditions and healing ceremonies around smoking. 

The act of sharing fire brings about a feeling of community, and the natural tobacco they smoke can uplift the spirit. Some tribes in Central America smoke plants with hallucinogenic effects –– unlike ayahuasca ceremonies that can heal the spirit. These “smoking” ceremonies are used rarely, certainly not every day. Again the point here is that proportion is key. 

At times throughout history Europeans were excited about the medicinal uses of tobacco as much as people are excited today about using CBD extracts from the cannabis plant, so there are trends that come and go even in older times. See this review for a history of tobacco, which the authors of the study point out: its use has contributed to millions and millions of deaths. So use with caution.

Maybe even reverence. Modern Peruvians ingest it, for instance, as medicine. 

There is a growing trend in America and Canada which started before Covid for people to grow their own tobacco using hydroponics or regular permaculture farming or gardening. This might be an idea that will work well for people who enjoy an occasional cigarette as you can grow the plants in an organic manner, without pesticides and the toxins that get absorbed into the plant.

One organization cautions however that organic cigarettes are not less dangerous and are just as addictive as conventionally grown tobacco. We can guess the thing that will save you from smoking too much if you grow your own is that you might find it hard to harvest and keep –– making it less enjoyable.

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The Middle East is synonymous with good food and over-zealous smokers. The poorer the town or village and the more you will see chain smoking in younger populations. You see it in the teeth. We know smoking is a vice that is not good to start. 

But what if it’s too late for you? You started and you can’t stop? We know that pretty much any vice except watching kitten videos on the Internet isn’t going to be good for you.

I have friends in Tel Aviv that smoke one cigarette a day –– at the end of the day with a glass of wine –– and have done so for years without leaping to 2 or 3 or half a pack. I think that is a sensible vice. No doubt there are ways to enjoy a vice without it getting out of control. 

Middle Eastern vices are not the same that you find in America or Europe. In the Middle East it’s about hashish. Americans and Canadians love cannabis now, and everywhere in Canada, and in more than half of the US States, you will have no problem with this vice. It is even being given out as medicine to help epilepsy, anxiety, pain from cancer. 

We know Europeans, especially the french smoke too many cigarettes too, and Americans are busy making a good old healthy THC-less  CBD tincture while out foraging for plants and mushroom chaga tea and living the #vanlife.

Smoking the hookah pipe

One of the most popular Middle East vices are hookah or shisha pipe smoking (nargila in Israel), which are those big Arabian-styled smoking pipes that look like they are from Aladdin’s cave. They get stuffed with a fruit flavored tobacco which is just as, even maybe more dangerous than regular cigarettes if you read some of our past articles. Don’t be fooled by the sweet smelling aroma. 

What is ghat?

Ghat, khat or gat is another vice that started in Yemen, but if you look around the markets around the Middle East you will find ghat leaves for sale – even in Israel. They give a moderate to mild high, and the most addictive part of ghat might be behavioural as it might be the only activity some people in Yemen want to do. It’s been creating some environmental problems in Yemen too. 

It is estimated that people in Yemen eat as much as 500 grams of the stuff each day, and seem to be content to enjoy just sitting around and being mildly intoxicated by its effects, which many say are a substitute for the favorite vice of the west –– alcohol –– (officially banned in Muslim Yemen), tobacco, and certain mild narcotics like hashish.

What is Middle Eastern snuff?

A lesser known vice found in the Middle East is naswār or nas. It is a moist, powdered tobacco snuff used in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Russia and Uzbekistan. Stuff if into the floor of your mouth or the inside of your cheek for 20 minutes and feel the same high effect from snus or dipping tobacco. Naswar was introduced into Western Europe by Ramon Pane, a Spanish monk after Columbus sailed the Americas from 1493-1496.

Years later in 1561, Jean Nicot, a French ambassador in Lisbon, Portugal, sent naswar to Catherine de’ Medici to treat her son’s ongoing migraine headaches. 

Is coffee a vice?

Vices, including coffee, all seem to start from a place where they help us all feel a little bit better. Whether they calm depression after a breakup (I started smoking after a really sad breakup years ago), or take the edge off a headache or a rough time at work, or not having work.

It’s all about moderation, my dear, my mother used to tell me. Although I think she also called cannabis devil’s weed. So take even Mom’s advice with a grain or salt. 

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Hookah, shisha, or smoking the nargila is a staple of any Middle Eastern experience. But more and more research suggests that this form of smoking is more damaging than regular cigarette smoking. Send this one to all your pipe smoking friends.

Hookah pipes don’t use filters so you are potentially inhaling a lot more particulate matter than when you smoke filtered cigarettes. New research suggests that when you smoke hookah with steam stones, the consequences can be even more disasterous.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati found that smoking a hookah loaded up with the stones actually delivers an extra cloud of toxic metal residues — including the chemicals of chromium, arsenic and cadmium — all released from the charcoal used to keep the hookah pipe burning.

We hate to say it but time to go back to smoking old smelly cigars?

Via: StogieBoys.com

Image of hookah pipe via Shutterstock

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Smoking the hookah, nargilah or shisha pipe is a truly fun and social way to connect in the Middle East. It’s an oriental fantasy for newcomers and even for women in private circles who want to wind down and let loose. But one session can be like smoking 600 cigarettes! 

I know an old grandma from Yemen who smokes her own hookah pipe every Friday night. She must be around 95. Perhaps the infrequency in which she smokes is the key, because researchers from Lebanon all the way to America and back over the Arab Gulf are screaming about the dangers of shisha. It’s even more dangerous than smoking cigarettes, Iran researchers say.

According to The National some of the latest research reveals that the inhaled smoke from a one-hour waterpipe session contains as much tar as up to 600 cigarettes, depending on the brand, and as much carbon monoxide as about 150 cigarettes.

About a quarter of all deaths in the United Arab Emirates are directly linked to smoking-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to government figures there.

While it seems innocuous enough — it’s because the hookah smoke smells like yummy apples, peaches, or apricots — that we get fooled. Also the social aspects of going out at night to smoke in a cafe make it appealing, especially in Arabian Muslim communities where alcohol consumption is prohibited or frowned upon.

Let’s look at a new study, probably the first ever major scientific paper in an international journal, the British Journal of Cancer. They published a study that nargileh users should read. It was done on hookah pipe and nass chewers in India.

They write: “Although cigarette smoking is an established risk factor for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), there is little information about the association between other smoking and smokeless tobacco products, including hookah and nass (a kind of tobacco chewing in India), and ESCC risk. We conducted a case–control study in Kashmir Valley, India, where hookah smoking, nass chewing, and ESCC are common, to investigate the association of hookah smoking, nass use, and several other habits with ESCC.

“This study shows that hookah and nass use are associated with ESCC risk. As prevalence of hookah use seems to be increasing among young people worldwide, these results may have relevance not only for the regions in which hookah use has been a traditional habit, but also for other regions, including western countries.”

So what are governments to do? Go the way of shisha prohibition, and ban it altogether? The infographic below shows how banning dangerous substances, like alcohol, actually leads to an increase in use. They use prohibition in America as an example. Maybe time for danger warnings on the box of hookah tobacco?

Via: Mocavo Genealogy Search

Image above is of Jabba the Hutt, from Star Wars smoking a hookah pipe

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It’s always been a source of curiosity to me that even my health-conscious friends in the Middle East rarely pass up an opportunity to suck on a shisha pipe – as though that seductive bubbling inferno of nauseously sweet tobacco is neither addictive nor harmful.

Me? No. Way. I’ve tried it twice and it literally makes me sick to my stomach. And now, thanks to a recent BBC article, I have a much better sense of why. The stuff is toxic, and way more so than a piddly little cigarette. Read on to learn more but be warned, shisha lovers may not want to hear what we have to say.

Shisha, Argileh, Hookah 

The BBC points out several misconceptions that may have led to the increasing popularity of shisha, argileh, or hookah pipes not only in the east, but in the west as well.

First, people assume that the bubbling water absorbs all toxicity and cools the tobacco, which may be somewhat true, although the paper sites a World Health Organization report that demonstrates that even filters seem fairly insignificant in the face of the fire that keeps the sticky tobacco going.

That’s right. Charcoal. Without charcoal, the moist tobacco is almost impossible to burn and sidewalk shisha cafes would be populated by men and women sporting fish faces from sucking so hard to keep the pipe going. The thing is, charcoal is definitely not harmless.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

According to the BBC, teens in Florida who smoked shisha pipes were tested for carbon monoxide levels, and it was found that they have triple the amount coursing through their bodies than those who had not smoked shisha. And the feeling of being high, say experts, could be attributed to early indicators of carbon monoxide poisoning.

In certain cases of prolonged exposure, carbon monoxide poisoning can be lethal.

People also think that they are only smoking the equivalent of about ten cigarettes or less. Not so, says BBC’s Claudia Hammond. Because, on average, people smoke a pipe for up to an hour, they end up taking 100-200 times more puffs than they would on a single cigarette.

But the long term consequences are still unclear.

Saudi health officials worry about a steep incline in heart disease cases among Gulf smokers, while others say that nicotine addiction, cardiovascular disease, and cancer are among the other health risks probably associated with smoking on a sustained basis.

We hate to kill your fun, but maybe it’s worth smoking less frequently, and reducing the duration of each pipe session?

:: BBC

Image credit: Man Smoking Hookah, Shutterstock

More on Smoking:

Sexual Smoking Images in Jordan to Stop Smoking

Middle East Smokers: Think About Your Heart

Cigarette Cones, So You Don’t Butt Out on the Beach

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