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.
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