So Saturday night I made my way to a local hookah lounge. A friend of mine was celebrating his 30th birthday so I had to go, right (wink, wink)? JK, I probably was more excited than him to hit that lounge. To be honest, I will hit a lounge for any occassion. The sun rose this morning … cool, let’s go to the hookah lounge. Sky’s blue….let’s go. I should be ashamed, but I puffed my way to pure ecstasy Sat. I heart the hookah. I was first introduced to them around 2007. At that time, there was one lonely building that offered them nearby.
(Just a quick lesson … Hookahs are Middle Eastern waterpipes used to smoke flavored tobacco. The smoke is filtered through water in the base of the hookah’s pipe. Kinda like a bong, but it’s legal.)
Since then, tons of lounges have popped up. Now, I love the conveince of going to them. That means no more going to the shady part of town. I can’t even talk about the shenanigans we endured with the owner, but I’m not sure if I love the new growing craze or hate it. For a while it was our own little dirty secret. Now I have to share my love with the likes of college kids.
Don’t get my wrong, college-aged people are adults too. But adults that pay bills are simply not on the same page with people who eat ramen noodles out of a styrofoam cup. #IJS
If I had to guess the allure for the new bars I guess I wouldn’t have to go far. I know some of the things that drew me in. For me, it just started with assumming it’s a better alternative to cigarette smoking since it’s filtered through water. I don’t even know what role water would play in making tobacco better, but water’s natural so ….. For over a year I thought that until one of my co-workers was all too happy to throw my mistake in my face. (That guy is a jerk by the way.) Unfortunately, he was right. Science shows that smoke from a hookah contains many of the same harmful and carcinoge components as cigarette smoke. D*mn!
By that point I had already grown fond of the taste of the hookah. It’s so easy to fall in love with. I mean how could something that tastes like strawberries, watermelon, grapes, apples and mango be bad for you, right? Ordering a hookah is like ordering ice cream. You can get any combination you like and the waitresses keeping it coming. Ohh…and the smell is parellel to the taste. No filthy cigarette smoke that stays in your clothes & hair. This was a huge concern for me. I used to be an usher at church so I COULD NOT have that aroma staying with me from a Saturday night of fun. (I know….don’t judge me.) I also had (have) a boyfriend who detests smoke so this was perfect.
It’s also something easy I could share with my friends. It’s like sharing a good meal. When you have two or three hoses attached to the bong that’s even better. At that point, you’ve suddenly evolved into family-style smoking. Coupled with drinks, its perfect for catching up on the latest.
And when all else fails, you can do some awesome smoke tricks. The smoke is much smoother and milkier than anything a typical cigarette or cigar could ever produce. So, even as a newbie I could literally make art with my smoke. SMH…how shallow – especially when the affects are harmful to your health.
Here’s one blurb I found..”One study found that a typical hour-long hookah smoking session involved taking in 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette, according to the American Lung Association.”
Talk about killing your buzz.
So the question is will this realization change my behavior. I doubt I will completely stop because I do enjoy it for all the reasons I just went through. But it’s nothing I can do on a weekly basis. In my mind, it’s similar to drinking (although I know scientifically it isn’t so spare me the fact check) so my goal is to handle it with moderation.
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