An Overview of Sheesha: Flavored Tabacco

Many people in the world consider the water pipe tobacco to be simply a gimmick for marijuana consumption. This isn't true. Flavored tobacco was created in the Muslim antiquity. Many Muslim cultures abstain from the consumption of alcohol. So in the place of social alcohol consumption flavored tobacco was created.

Flavored tobacco, or sheesha, as it was originally referred to often taste of fruit, and was originally created by mixing very herbs with sweet substances such as honey. When it is to be smoked the tobacco is generally filled in a very small bowl with holes in the bottom to allow the burning materials smoke to exit through. There is then generally a grill (or aluminum foil, in a pinch) over the tobacco with a burning coal on top of that. The burning coal then slowly ignites the plant matter beneath it and creates a very sweet filled smoke. But that is not the whole store. Smoke, especially tobacco smoke, is often filled with a great number of carcinogens that can harm the lungs or make the smoke unpleasant to inhale. Due to this the smoke is first filtered through water, which absorbs many of the harmful carcinogens before they reach the human body.

Flavored tobacco is usually smoked socially among a group of 2 to 6 people. People take turns smoking from the water pipe, before passing it onto the next eagerly awaiting smoker. People can usually smoke one bowl filling for about a half hour, but this varies greatly depending on a variety of factors. People generally do not smoke flavored tobacco on a daily basis because of the somewhat complex contraption that is required to successfully smoke it, the price of the tobacco, and the general culture accompanying it. Many nonsmokers also enjoy the pleasures of the flavored tobacco by not inhaling it or simply playing with the smoke as it exits their mouth (the smoke is much thicker than regular cigarette smoke).

The health aspects of smoking flavored tobacco have been greatly researched by scientists, and an equal amount of myth surrounds the health considerations of flavored tobacco smokers. It has been determined that the water in the water pipe removes some of the carcinogens in the tobacco smoke, but is unable to remove all of them. At first glance this sounds like smoking sheesha is healthier than cigarettes. It is not, although there is a smaller amount of harmful substances in the smoke, a far greater quantity is often smoked. This is, however, further offset by the fact that smoking flavored tobacco through a water pipe is generally a social activity as opposed to a private one. People who start smoking flavored tobacco do not often move on to smoking cigarettes because the flavored tobacco often carries fruity, clear tastes that cigarettes cannot easily replicate.

There are a number of water pipe "bars" in America and throughout the world, but their numbers or steadily declining due to legislation that forbids smoking indoors becoming prominent throughout the world. A number of legal loopholes often allow water pipe bars to continue to operate, and has added an underground "speakeasy" sort of feel to a number of other locations.

Smoking a water pipe is a wonderful social pastime that should be considered by a greater number of people.