Hookah Smoking In Public Places Will Be Prohibited In The UAE

Hookah smoking has been prohibited in public places, including parks and quays, on the territory of one of the UAE administrative units, the emirate Ras al-Khaimah. The hookah will be allowed in the coffee houses that have the corresponding license.

Severe measures are caused by the fact that municipal authorities receive many complaints from the population which are indignant with wide circulation of tobacco smoking in their city. The infringer of this prohibition will be punished financially. The sizes of penalties are not known yet.

The hookah - a tube with the water filter and long flexible chibouk - is traditionally very popular in the Arabian world and some other Muslim countries. Its Arabian name has the Persian origin and in the old days it meant a small pot, in which east women stored their jewelry and aromas.

They use special tobacco (usually flavored) for a hookah and instead of water (as a cooler) quite often various nonalcoholic and alcoholic drinks are used.

The most popular tobacco is mu' essel. This tobacco differs from the cigarette one, as well as from any other tobacco. Very strong black tobacco is used for its manufacturing. It passes complex processing to become hookah tobacco. They soak it many times, sweeten, and add fruit chips, honey, treacle, aromatic oils.The secret of preparation lies exactly in the order of laying and exact dosage of its components.

The resulted tobacco differs from all other tobacco and suits only for a hookah. It consists of 30 % of tobacco, 50 % of treacle and 20 % of fruit and spices on average. Hookah tobacco should be damp. Sometimes it is even not damp, but juicy. Externally good hookah tobacco looks like jam - large leaves of tobacco, translucent and sticky, are stuck together in one continuous mass.

Recently hookah extends worldwide like a shot - in parallel with tourism increase. So, according to the observations of some Polish travel company, each tenth tourist coming back from Egypt brings this smoking set together with other souvenirs.

Iuri Tarabanov writes about interesting travel experiences. His Travel offers site is http://www.travelime.com

The Hookah Experience

A hookah is basically a water pipe intended for the smoking of tobacco. It is often made of glass with two or more flexible stems drawing the water cooled smoke from the pipe. It originated in India many centuries ago, and moved from there into the Middle East. Although tobacco was the original substance burned in the hookah, others are also used. Some of these others have been illegal substances such as Cannabis or Opium, and this has tended to give hookahs a bad name in Western Culture. In recent years, the hookah has been making some headway in dispelling this bad reputation. One of the attractions of hookah smoking in the East was the manner in which the activity induced relaxation, and stimulated conversation.

The Online market has allowed hookahs to be purchased in larger numbers, and the merchants generally sell a large variety of flavored and low nicotine tobacco. The nicotine level is furthered reduced by the action of the water inside the pipe, and the result is a smoking experience that is ultimately less expensive and a lot less messy than sharing a couple of Marlboros. If a couple were smokers, it is easy to envision the hookah on the coffee table for a private evening of movies or conservation.

This is exactly the thought of some enterprising businessmen who have begun to open Hookah bars around the country. These would be regular bars with the exception of a hookah in the middle of every table. That large selection of fragrant tobacco would be available for purchase along with your drinks. The hookah smoking would supposedly have a calming effect on the patrons, encourage good talk, and enhance the entertainment. A Hookah Café would be similar except that perhaps food and coffee would be served with the tobacco rather than alcohol. Which ever approach suits you better, a trip to a Hookah smoking establishment would make a novel and very interesting group activity.

Ron Zvagelsky has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in May 2006. He is currently the Co-Founder of PlanJam – where you can find information on hookah bars and things to do.

Hookah: A Smoking New Trend Among College Students

For centuries, Eastern cultures have embraced this simple, yet curious device known as the hookah. Though the designs and materials have changed through the years, the hookah's social function is still intact. Too few things exist that are able to bring people - sometimes complete strangers - together in such an intimate fashion. Struggling for a place in the United States and European countries, the hookah has found its place in college and university towns.

Hookahs have seemingly always had a place in Eastern cultures. The hookah has, however, only recently begun to grab footing in the United States and European countries. Less than 10 years ago, you'd be hard-pressed to find a hookah bar or cafe outside of the cultural areas of larger cities. These days, if you survey the land around large university campuses, you will find a strange, new type of business cropping up. Though some offer exotic coffees and others offer alcoholic beverages, hookah cafes and bars are giving today's college students a much-needed place to unwind after a day full of studies. Drawn by curiosity, students find themselves in a world of sheer imagination that is truly unique among the countless hangouts that abound around colleges and universities.

Hookahs were created to solve a problem among tobacco smokers. When heated, tobacco creates a smoke that, without cooling, is harsh and nearly unbearable. The hookah introduced a simple, yet novel way to cool the hot, harsh smoke. When a smoker inhales, the smoke first travels through water and is cooled before it ever reaches the smoker's mouth. This smooth experience is quite different from smoking cigarettes or cigars and is almost always commented upon by first-time hookah smokers.

In addition to being a cooler smoke, the tobaccos used in hookahs are generally flavored. These flavors range from fruits like apples and oranges, to modern-day flavors like bubble gum and cola. It's this flavored smoke that has really made hookahs the preferred smoke among college students.

Look around a hookah bar or cafe and you will see tightly-huddled masses sitting around a dozen or so hookahs, talking about everything from this week's exams to next year's newest cars. This simple device has an extraordinary power to bring together people of all backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities. It knows no boundaries and performs its social function with relative ease.

Business owners recognize the power of college towns. They provide businesses with a constant flow of fresh customers from semester to semester. New students arrive and seasoned students bring the new students to the cafes and bars. It's a process that repeats itself over and over again.

So, if you're looking for a new, fresh place to meet new friends, go on a hunt for your local hookah establishment. You'll be glad you did!

Ethan Frost is an editor for Hookah Hoopla!, the Web's premier hookah education site. For more information about hookahs, visit Hookah Hoopla! [http://www.hookahhoopla.com/]

Are Smoking, Drugs Or Drinking a No-No For Singers? How a Singer's Vocal Health is Affected

A singer uses their human body as a musical instrument & thus it is crucial for a singer to stay in the best health possible.

Smoking, marijuana, drugs and alcohol are all known to affect the human body.

For singers, these factors have a very huge impact upon their vocal cords, singing voice & musical ability. The impact is mostly negative...

Let's first cover smoking cigarettes, cigars, hookah, those new-trendy electric vaporized cigarettes & marijuana.

Before we do that, it is important to understand that ANY type of smoke is harmful to the vocal cords, the lungs & the body. Smoke dehydrates the body which eventually dehydrates the vocal cords themselves, it also reduces the flexibility of the vocal cords which makes it harder to coordinate the vocal cords. In addition, smoke from ANY type of smoking- whether it's hookah or marijuana damages the tissues of the vocal cords gradually.

Now that we've established the fact that any type of smoking is harmful to the voice. Lets cover how each different type of smoking affects the voice.

Cigarettes- Optimal lung function is crucial in singers. Tobacco, nicotine & tar are all known to harm the lungs. In addition, there are over 300 different types of chemicals which are poisonous, toxic & carcinogenic to the body found in cigarettes. These chemicals affect every little CELL in the body which includes the vocal cords, voice box & the lungs of a singer.

Cigars- Are not meant to be inhaled but the large amount of unfiltered smoke produced & tobacco found in cigars cancels out any "protection" from not inhaling the smoke. The smoke definitely reaches the lungs & causes significant harm due to the large amount of unfiltered smoke. The vocal cords are most affected from cigars. Ever notice why most cigar smokers have a very raspy & beat up voice?

Hookah- This smoking trend has gained popularity among the young generation of college students & high school students. If you are a singer, hookah is extremely harmful. Despite the never-ending myth that hookah is completely harmless since it has no tobacco, hookah IS harmful. I've looked up all the scientific studies & research into this, a hookah produces large amounts of toxic substances which gradually ruins health BUT... for singers it is very harsh on the voice & quickly stiffens, dehydrates & toughens the vocal cords. The amount of smoke & chemicals produced from hookah are all very harmful to the vocal cords, even more so than cigars & cigarettes.

Electric Vaporized Cigarettes, Cigars, & Pipes- This new technology uses vaporized smoke produced by either food additives & contains nicotine with no tobacco. So far the health effects of this type of smoking are unknown & not studied. However nicotine is harmful to the body. My advice is to simply avoid this type of smoking even if you use no nicotine to smoke because the food additives used to produce the vaporized smoke could be harmful to the lungs & vocal cords. In other words, better stay safe than sorry.

Smoking is not an option for singers, especially for those looking for a career in singing, it IS deadly. It will age you quicker, ruin your voice gradually, halt any improvement you might have seen from vocal lessons, & cause a loads of problems to your health.

But...

What about marijuana? Many singers, musicians & entertainers use all types of drugs including marijuana to "enhance" their creativity. They certainly DO enhance their creativity & their talents skyrocket- different drug substances effect each person differently. However this positive effects are SHORT-TERM. Gradually a higher drug dose will be needed to sustain the amount of creativity in music & singing before attained from a smaller dose.

In addition, side effects will occur to the health physically & mentally.

Singers, Musicians & Entertainers can accomplish the amount of creativity & talent they get from drugs use, long term by learning how to meditate.

This is another topic & subject on its own.

But getting back to drugs...

For serious singers it is not an option at all! I can understand why many famous singers have done drugs. I won't point any names but you must understand that these effects are only obtained when you are on the drugs & you will need more drugs to sustain the positive creative effects. Your mental, physical & emotional health will start taking a toll.

If you are looking at a career, you may have a few hit singles from the result of your drug-induced creativity but that does NOT seem all very impressive...When you realize that you CAN accomplish the same amount of creativity by learning how to do it naturally without the use of drugs.

Moving on to alcohol...this again has the same side effect & consequences as drugs if abused. Alcohol drunk responsibly & in reasonable amounts will not harm a singer.

Coming to the conclusion, is smoking, drugs or drinking irresponsibly acceptable for singers?

From a subjective point of view you can certainly argue it to your favor BUT....from a OBJECTIVE point of view it defiantly is not recommended for the serious singer, performer, entertainer and/or musician.

I hope any singers may take this piece of advice for their own good.

Kelly Keller is dedicated to helping struggling singers deal with problems they have with their singing, vocal range, musical ability & singing performance.

Kelly currently runs a website to help singers here http://www.SingingMiracle.com.

Sheesha/Shisha Smoking - Harmful Effects on Health

Sheesha or Shihsa is also known as water pipe or Hookah is basically smocking device in which smock cooled and filtered by water.

A recent study shows that sheesha or shisha is serious threat to the health of teenagers, especially the girls. This habit was found to be most prevalent in the 16-25 years age group with 70% sheesha smokers being male and 30% females. There is another dangerous thing about sheesha and that is the use of prohibited and additive substances in more than 30% of sheesha outlets by owners or by smokers.

Sheesha smocking may result in low fertility rates among girls and increase the chances of fetal abnormalities, posing a major threat to their health. Other harmful impacts of sheesha smocking includes heart disease, stroke, muscle and joints ailments, headache, and may also lead to cancers of lips, tongue, mouth, lungs and stomach. Besides posing a serious threat to teenager's mental and physical health the sheesha smoke also affected those sitting in the vicinity of the smokers, which is called second-hand or passive smoking.

One puff of the sheesha smoke contains more than 5000 active chemicals out of which at least more than 100 are carcinogenic and more than 25% have serious addictive potential. Another big risk with sheesha smoking is that addictive drugs like cocaine, marijuana and heroine are being added to the flavoured tobacco either by the managements of these outlets or by the customers themselves.

The trend of Sheesha smoking in Pakistan is rapidly increasing with the passage of time and especially in young boys and girls. Sheesha outlets are not only mushrooming in big cities like Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Multan and Faiselabad but also in small cities and towns. Government should need to check the outlets and should discourage such trends.

Hookah Tobacco

The tobacco used in hookahs is different than that associated with cigarettes, or, indeed, any other form of smoking. It is, traditionally, a damp blend--called tobamel or maassel--of fresh tobacco leaves with molasses or honey and semi-dried fruit or fruit pulp. Some smokers would add pomegranate juice or perhaps rose oil to the water, which added flavor to the smoke. Later, hookah tobacco was also mixed with fruit extracts, and in the 1980s tobacconists began experimenting with various flavors, so that now a virtual smorgasbord of highly aromatic hookah tobacco is widely available.

While some hookah smokers still prefer a strong Turkish tobacco, many delight in the large assortment of flavored tobaccos, often called shisha. The dark, wet mixture comes in flavors ranging from apple, cherry, apricot, and watermelon, to rose, jasmine, vanilla, honey, and licorice, with more exotic blends beyond that, such as lemon-cola, cappuccino, apple-mint, and a list of custom blends that is nigh on infinite.

Prices for packaged tobacco range anywhere from $4 to $17 depending on quality, and a variety pack of flavors might cost about $30. The price in most lounges for a bowl of hookah tobacco ranges from $4 to $9 for slower burning leaf or custom blends.

Since hookah tobacco is very wet it must be smoked using a hookah charcoal. Rather than being lit directly, the tobacco is heated with a coal placed on tinfoil or wire mesh above or in the bowl holding the damp mixture. Each bowl of this wet tobacco lasts a long time, usually requiring several replenishments of the charcoal. In the past, among those rituals and traditions surrounding the lighting and smoking of the hookah, or narghile, were strict prohibitions against lighting the tobacco incorrectly--or even allowing a cigarette smoker to light their cigarette off of the hookah coal.

Hookah tobacco is generally only 30 percent tobacco and 70 percent fruit flavoring and molasses or honey. It contains .05 percent nicotine and most types contain no tar. Because the tobacco is heated, rather than actually burned, studies have shown that there are fewer carcinogens produced in hookah smoke than in other forms of smoking. However, concerns about the length of time smokers generally spend around a bowl of hookah tobacco do warrant consideration, and studies have shown that carbon dioxide intake is actually higher in hookah smoking. Though mellower and less carcinogenic, hookah tobacco is still tobacco and the health risks remain. Hookah tobacco should only be smoked by adults over 18 years of age, and then smoked in moderation.

Hookahs Info provides detailed information on hookah smoking, tobacco, pipes, and lounges, and advice on where to buy retail and wholesale hookahs. Hookahs Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.

What Is the Truth About Hookah?

The use of tobacco is centuries old. It is smoked, eaten, chewed and sniffed. We are obviously talking about drug use here, and addiction. One way it is smoked is with a device called a hookah. Smoking tobacco in a hookah is a practice that dates back to the early 16th century in the Middle East.

A hookah is a device that super-heats flavored tobacco and passes the resulting smoke through water and it is then inhaled by the smoker by means of a tube.

Nicotine is the drug in tobacco and it is delivered in greater amounts in hookah smoke than in cigarette smoke. Hookah smoke also contains high levels of toxic compounds, including tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals and other cancer-causing chemicals

Because of how it is done, smoking tobacco by hookah can deliver more toxins than smoking cigarettes. In fact, a one-hour long hookah session involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from just one cigarette.

Another important factor in the toxicity of smoking hookah is the charcoal used to heat the tobacco. Made from cherry wood, or coconut shells and various other materials, chemicals from the burning charcoal are inhaled by the smoker along with the smoke from the tobacco. Few studies have been done on the chemicals these charcoals produce, let alone their effects on the smoker's health.

As would be expected, because of the greater amounts of smoke delivered by the hookah than the cigarette, the smoker also receives:

· Higher amounts of carbon-monoxide, a poisonous gas that is also produced in gasoline engines.
· Greater amounts of carcinogenic materials like heavy metals
· More tar than in cigarette smoke

According to the Centers for Disease Control, hookah smokers are at risk for the same kinds of diseases as are caused by cigarette smoking, including oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, cancer of the esophagus, reduced lung function, and decreased fertility.

The CDC also states that numerous toxic chemicals that are known to cause clogged arteries and heart disease are contained in hookah smoke as well.

Hookah smoking is NOT a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.

Thanks to years of research and advertisement regarding the dangers of smoking tobacco, it is pretty common knowledge that smoking cigarettes or cigars is dangerous. Unfortunately, there haven't been many public awareness campaigns on the similar dangers of using hookahs. We are seeing the popularity of hookah bars or shisha cafés going right through the roof. This is also pulling in a new following with younger people.

But the addiction potential of hookah is very real. Using nicotine is dangerous in any form and regardless of whether the route onto nicotine addiction is through smoking cigars, cigarettes or hookah, in the end, we have the same problem.

The addict can't carry a pack of hookahs around in a shirt pocket, so for sheer convenience, switching to cigarettes is an obvious choice.

Hookah smoking as a social event.

The routes onto addiction to nicotine are many, but there is always some social component that attracts the new users. Some of the attractions of hookah smoking are exactly the same as those that have been used to attract young people to cigarettes, cigars and pipes for many, many years.

· The older kids are doing it
· It looks cool
· The group is into it
· It looks like fun
· It shows up on TV or in the movies (And now on the internet.)
· The parents probably don't approve (rebel factor)
· It looks grown-up

One more liability of indulging in hookah parties or cafes is that the hose that delivers the smoke is usually passed from smoker to smoker. This increases the chances of contracting communicable diseases for everyone who passes the hose.

In the end, our responsibility to spread the truth about the dangers presented by hookah smoking is the same as with any other public threat. The more people understand, the better their choices are going to be.

Tony Bylsma is a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor, and a drug abuse prevention speaker in Los Angeles, CA

http://www.TheRoadOut.org