I've been smoking for about a year, but only now started researching and getting on forums to learn more. Any one else here into it?
Its a water pipe: You use flavored tobacco thats called "shisha" in it. Its tobacco mixed with glycerin/honey and whatever flavoring. The shisa goes in a bowl with a hole in the bottom of it, wrap that in foil(usually) and put special coals on top. The foil has holes in it so when you suck on the hose, the air travels from around the coals-heats up, heats up the shisha, smoke forms and travels down the hole in the bowl down through the water, then bubbles up and then you finally get smoke out of the hose....if that makes any sense LOL. Anyway, its big in the middle eastern countries and on college campuses (where i picked it up). Its nothing like cigarettes which i hate. Got a lot of good tasting flavors and its pretty relaxing. Plus i have fun building my own hookah rather than buying a new one. Gives me something to do while the stang is down
College has changed a lot since I was there. I went to engineering college. We had a hookah which we called Mr. Peanut. I don't know why. The bowl would hold an entire eighth of "shisha." It then went into a valve attached to a 1/2 horse power air pump. All of this was attached to a 5 gallon empty poland spring water bottle. The water bottle was filled half way with water. Above the water were 8 plastic tubes, all grommeted and gasketed where they went through the water bottle of course, each about 20 feet long. So what you'd do is pack the "shisha" into the bowl, open the valve, and turn on the air pump. The air pump would "smoke" the "shisha" for you, and all of the "flavored smoke" would get trapped in the half-empty section of the 5 gallon bottle. When the shisha was done being smoked by the air pump, the pump would shut off, and we'd close the valve. Everyone with a tube had their thumb over it of course, so that no smoke would escape. So now you have an entire eighth of "shisha", pre-smoked, and 8 dudes chilling out taking hits off it. It was definitely a one of a kind hookah. In the winter we'd pack it with snow, not water, and damn that was smooth. Adam
i used to have a 4 hose hookah... we used to mix some shisha and some weed every now and then, pretty cool... i have since sold it and havent smoked weed in a few years now
Well no, you got 8 guys hitting off it, it took about 20 minutes to clear it. I haven't smoked anything except cigars / pipe since I was a Sophomore in college. I nearly didn't make it out of school because of that scene, so be forewarned that its easy to get lost in the moment. I was actually more proud of how the hookah turned out then the amount of joy I got out using it. I guess I've been hotrodding things for as long I can remember. I'll try to dig up the AutoCad of Mr. Peanut. My old computer has long since crapped out though. Adam
By no means is this a "habit" of mine...i dont drink on a regular and i dont smoke on a regular. Smoking a hookah is something i do on occassion that i find relaxing. And like you, i put more effort and got more joy out of researching what the high dollar hookah pipes offer and building one from scratch myself for less that actually performs better.
i stopped inhaling smoke into my lungs 20 years ago. i can't get past the idea of deliberately subjecting my lungs to something like that. my mother in law had emphysema and was on oxygen 24 hours a day, and let me tell you, it was not fun watching her gasp for air. she recently died of pneumonia. why would one deliberately do something to their lungs that, over the long run, could permanently damage them? we already have enough bad stuff going into our lungs, why add to it? if there were some drops that you could put in your eyes that make everything psychedelic for a little while, but they might contribute to serious and uncurable eye problems later in life ... would you use them?
Everything you say is true and i bet if people wanted a psychedelic feeling or vision....they would do it. Personally, i'd pass. But, to play devils advocate....there are people who do smoke and dont have health issues later on. There are people who dont smoke and still have health issues. How many people in this world drink alcohol? Outside of some wines......alcoholic beverages are NASTY. Beer may have an acquired taste but its nasty. And outside of wines....which pose any benefit to you? Junk food? Fast food? If you are a chain smoker, or smoke a lot in general, then i dont understand it either. But the occassional cigar/hookah/pipe smokers that enjoy the flavor, that enjoy the relaxation, i think you should do it if you like it. Im not here to try to be as careful as possible to preserve a life that i may not have for as long as i think, or i may have another illness come up.....im going to enjoy life. Not in a wreckless manner....but also not in a white padded room :SNSign:
I really like this poem: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, But rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
I'll say it this way i have smoked cigarettes once in a while to calm my nerves. I suffer from depression. It comes and goes like when i breakup with a gf it hits me pretty bad. I only do it if my nerves are really bad. I know I shouldn't and I hate that i do it. Other then that I don't inhale anything except the smoke from fires when I'm on a call with the fire company. However our new chief is pretty anal about wearing your mask so that has cut back
