What is Shisha?
Shisha which is derived from the Persian word ‘Shishe’ means glass. It is a common term for hookah in Egypt and the Arab nations of the Persian Gulf like Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, UAE and Saudi Arabia and also in Morocco, Yemen, Tunisia, Somalia . But generally Shisha refers to the flavored, nicotine free and tar free tobacco that is used for smoking in the hookah.
The hookah pipes usually referred to as ‘nargille’ often have more than one mouth and this makes it possible more than one person to smoke from the same hookah. The flavored tobacco is placed above water which is then covered by a pierced foil with hot coal placed over it the smoke which is then drawn is cool and filtered by the cold water.
The tradition of smoking hookah pre-dates the cigarette smoking by hundreds of years. It is so popular in the Arab world that there are innumerable hookah cafes where one can enjoy one’s smoke. Shisha that is smoked by means of a hookah is nothing but tobacco (also called tobac, tumbak, tombak, gouza, guza, moassel and seesha). It is mixed with molasses and is enriched with fruit flavors.
It is not like the common tobacco that is used in cigarettes or cigars for smoking. The tobacco used for making Shisha is claimed to be the best and it is held that there is nothing as refreshing as smoking it. The tobacco that is used for making cigarettes and cigars is supposedly considered to be impure whereas that used for making Shisha professes to be free of any harmful impurities. Generally it is believed that cigarettes contains large amounts of nicotine and other additives though there are a few brands which claims to be free from these harmful additive free but still they are of no match to Shisha. Since smoking flavored tobacco is always much more tempting than smoking unflavored one. But for whatever reason it might have been smoked for flavor or for enjoying a nicotine free smoke smoking Shisha is always a very pleasant and relaxing experience.
But no matter how much does it claims of nicotine free, healthy smoke smoking is always injurious to one’s health. But then it is better than smoking a cigarette. It’s light and flavored smoke is always very refreshing and it is available in a variety of aromatic flavors like apple, apricot, pineapple, grape, rose, mint and even vanilla and cappuccino’s. There’s even an especial cola flavor! The effect of smoking Shisha can last for two to three hours.
