No harm in the hubble-bubble?

You may know it as the hookah, nargila, argila, hubble-bubble or more commonly in this part of the world, shisha.

Shisha smoking has become popular in the UAE and the Arab world. It has slowly become identified with Arabic culture and customs. In addition it has somehow been linked with Ramadan.

How smoking tobacco became related to a month devoted to worship is difficult to understand. Yet the number of people smoking shisha during Ramadan is three times greater than in any other month, according to coffeeshop owners.

Being a shisha fan myself, it would be hypocritical of me to condemn shisha smoking. I find shisha to be a relaxing experience and the bubbling sound produced as you draw the smoke through the pipe is delightful.

It is smoked for its relaxing effect rather than a nicotine high. The shisha smoke is light and has a fruity flavour and aroma.

Worse than cigarettes

Shisha smoking does not resemble cigarette smoking and is actually more harmful to your health. Most people, however, believe that it is less harmful than cigarettes.

Dr Rajeev Gupta, consultant cardiologist at Al Ain Hospital, says: "Shisha is worse than smoking cigarettes. An hour of smoking the shisha is equivalent to smoking one pack of cigarettes.

"Shisha smoking and tobacco are even worse during Ramadan because the body is fasting and at rest. When you smoke you are directly hitting the body with over 4,000 identified harmful substances. When these substances hit the body, it can cause heart attacks by constricting coronary arteries.

"The effects of shisha smoking are like cigarette smoking but more profound because the doses are higher," he says
Shisha smoking can cause heart attacks, chest pain and an irregular pulse.

"I'd rather people did not smoke, full stop. But if I had to choose between cigarettes and the shisha, I'd tell them to smoke cigarettes because the shisha is far worse than cigarettes."

Ramadan and Shisha

Tarek Hadi smokes daily during Ramadan, but only once every three months during the rest of the year.

Why do people smoke the shisha more during Ramadan?

"I think it's because there isn't much to do otherwise. We don't go to bars or discos during Ramadan.

"Sadly for the last few years, shisha smoking, late nights and belly dancers have become related to Ramadan. Now it has become a tradition to smoke the shisha during Ramadan with all these tents coming up before the beginning of the month. You can't get rid of it now. shisha is Ramadan and vice versa."

Shisha ladies

Why it is more accepted in the UAE for a woman to smoke shisha rather than cigarettes?

"Usually the scene of a girl smoking a cigarette is unacceptable because it is linked to women in the West who work the streets or in bars. Shisha is accepted because we haven't seen it in the West. We have nothing to compare to shisha smoking. It does look kind of weird, but not like cigarette smoking," he said.

Thirty-year-old Hamed Salem had one of his worst experiences when he smoked the shisha for the first time.

"The first time I smoked a shisha, I felt dizzy and vomitted because the tobacco was very strong.

"I went back to smoking the shisha because my friends told me that it was a great experience and it is only the first time that is the most difficult. I went for a lighter apple flavoured one. I no longer get dizzy and now smoke for two hours on weekends but daily during Ramadan. I have a shisha at home and smoke with friends when they come over."

Does your sister smoke the shisha?

"I allow my sister to smoke the shisha at home but not in public."

And if she smoked cigarettes?

"I'd kill her."

The Hookah

Shisha tobacco is mixed with molasses and fruit flavours and is smoked in a hookah.

Although the most popular flavour is apple, others include strawberry, pineapple, apricot, grape, rose, mint and even cappuccino.

The hookah consists of three parts. A hollow glass (sometimes clay or brass) base filled with water, a vertical pipe topped with a clay bowl for the tobacco and coals, and an attached hose to inhale through.

When one sucks on the hose, the smoke is drawn down the pipe and through the water, which cools and filters it.

Zen and the art of smoking shisha

Looking up from his hookah, a lifelong shisha smoker gives his two cents: "Smoking a shisha is nothing like smoking a cigarette," the 71-year-old man said.

"Cigarettes are for nervous people, competitive people, people on the run," he said. "When you smoke a shisha, you have time to think. It teaches you patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation of good company. Shisha smokers have a much more balanced approach to life than cigarette smokers."