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Hookahs Head Mainstream?
By Dale Scott

Domestically-produced hookah tobaccos from major suppliers points to
a turning point for a formerly fringe segment.

Besieged by a sagging economy and governmental intrusion, tobacco retailers are glimpsing a guiding star in the East. Unlike the mystical biblical reference, however, this one is named "shisha."

Shisha (SHEE-shah) is the historic Arabic name for the entire hookah smoking apparatus, including a globe full of water, tobacco, and charcoal for ignition. But, in contemporary usage, it generally applies to the smoking material alone - a small amount of tobacco combined into a sticky ball with flavoring agents, honey, or molasses, and a casing (usually glycerine). The lump is placed in a bowl on top of the hookah, a charcoal pellet is placed atop it and lit, and users puff the water-cooled smoke, through flexible hoses. Replaceable tips on the hoses assure sanitary usage, as hookahs are - like Marriott Hotel mattresses - communal. In one setting, up to a half-dozen may use a hookah simultaneously. Few smokers inhale, although the nicotine content may be as low as two percent of that in cigarette smoke. Instead, they smoke for the taste of the flavoring agents, usually fruit-based, with some instances of mint; menthol; spices like clove, anise or rosemary; or blends of complementary flavors.

The rise of hookahs and shisha in America - which was still in its infancy two to three years ago - didn't originate in the marketing departments of tobacco suppliers. It sprang from a cult movement by college-age and twenty-something patrons who discovered this ancient Middle-Eastern pastime of smoking pleasure, along with a far more rewarding social and cultural substance. Cigar smoking captures this to a degree, but certainly not cigarette smoking.

Young people are unmatched at extracting the most joie de vivre per dollar of any age group, which typifies communal hookah usage. They watched, aghast, as the price of premium cigars soared to $5-10. Now, instead of friends joining over cigars, hookah smokers can enjoy the same duration of relaxed companionship around a hookah. Depending on location, the tab will total $5-10 - but that's for the entire group.