Just how dangerous is shisha?

[bleedoutlove]

A lot of people my age, well the year above me anyways who are the same age as me, smoke shisha socially in shisha cafes. How dangerous is it? I've read that it's much less dangerous than ciggies because it doesn't have many chemicals and is filtered through water. Can anyone verify this?

[JunkBondTrader]

Tobacco is dangerous however you use it. Yes, the tobacco is somewhat less processed but this doesn't actually do all that much. Cigarettes are filtered too, the water just takes away some of the harshness.

I must say that you're probably less likely to get addicted to shisha though, simply because it's not the sort of thing you can carry around in your pocket. Be careful with it though, tobacco is addictive in all forms.

If you do it in moderation, you'll be fine. Keep a schedule of once a month or so and you should stave off addiction for a while.

Hope this helped. :)

[Zazu]

Tobacco is dangerous however you use it. Yes, the tobacco is somewhat less processed but this doesn't actually do all that much. Cigarettes are filtered too, the water just takes away some of the harshness.

I must say that you're probably less likely to get addicted to shisha though, simply because it's not the sort of thing you can carry around in your pocket. Be careful with it though, tobacco is addictive in all forms.

If you do it in moderation, you'll be fine. Keep a schedule of once a month or so and you should stave off addiction for a while.

Hope this helped. :)

Brilliant advice.

OP, you could always have a look around for a shisha café which provides tobacco and nicotine free molasses (normally called 'herbal' molasses / smoke mixture).

Remember though that inhaling the products of pretty much any form of combustion will include some nasties.

[staying_alive]

Brilliant advice.

OP, you could always have a look around for a shisha café which provides tobacco and nicotine free molasses (normally called 'herbal' molasses / smoke mixture).

Remember though that inhaling the products of pretty much any form of combustion will include some nasties.

Yeah, I would say this is the way to go. Find anything nicotine-free and the addiction potential goes WAY down. Shisha is something I don't know a lot about, but it sounds like tobacco smoked out of a bong? That doesn't seem too appealing to me, but I guess whatever floats your boat. Just don't go (too) overboard.

[Spook]

Any drug that gets you high is dangerous.

Read the label

[Magus]

Any drug that gets you high is dangerous.

Read the labelShisha isn't a drug that gets you high.

Well, I have tried shisha a couple of times, I mean, it's a staple here in Arabia.
But it's heavier than a smoke, and one round of shisha is equivalent of 1 packet of cig.

[staying_alive]

Any drug that gets you high is dangerous.

Read the label
:confused:

Hmm...what exactly is getting high? Because I could take tylenol and get high from it, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's dangerous (even though Tylenol is VERY dangerous). By your logic, most everyday things are dangerous simply because one can get high from them...

[JunkBondTrader]

Any drug that gets you high is dangerous.

Read the label

It doesn't get you high and there isn't normally a label other than the standard ones you find on cigarette packets. It's just flavoured tobacco smoked through a water pipe.

:confused:

Hmm...what exactly is getting high? Because I could take tylenol and get high from it, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's dangerous (even though Tylenol is VERY dangerous). By your logic, most everyday things are dangerous simply because one can get high from them...

Tylenol is paracetamol/acetaminophen, right? You can't get high off that unless your idea of high includes "projective vomiting and liver failure". They don't sell brand-name Tylenol in Britain but I'd imagine they market a preparation with codeine in it. You could probably get high off that...

[Spook]

If it's like a cig, then sure...it isn't what you would call DANGEROUS, but over time it can be harmful to your body...lungs?

[JunkBondTrader]

If it's like a cig, then sure...it isn't what you would call DANGEROUS, but over time it can be harmful to your body...lungs?

Definitely, I was just saying it doesn't get you high.

[Spook]

Understood. ;)

[Φρανκομβριτ]

Well, here in Canada, although smoking is prohibited indoors, there are restaurants serving shisha at your table, so the effects must be considerably less than ciggarettes to allow smoking indoors

[JunkBondTrader]

Well, here in Canada, although smoking is prohibited indoors, there are restaurants serving shisha at your table, so the effects must be considerably less than ciggarettes to allow smoking indoors

Not really. We have a smoking ban here in England, too and shisha is often tolerated. It's totally illegal, just as much as smoking cigarettes indoors, but for cultural reasons the ban is often flouted.

Good thing too, since it's delicious. :D

[staying_alive]

Tylenol is paracetamol/acetaminophen, right? You can't get high off that unless your idea of high includes "projective vomiting and liver failure". They don't sell brand-name Tylenol in Britain but I'd imagine they market a preparation with codeine in it. You could probably get high off that...

Let's just assume I meant Tylenol 3 (the codeine one, I think) :D Or standard cough syrup, or ibuprofen, etc.

[CaptainObvious]

Shisha isn't a drug that gets you high.

what? yes it absolutely does. it gets you nicotine high, like any other tobacco. the fact that it's not the normal kind of thing referred to as "high" doesn't make it any less neurologically potent.

anyways, shisha is as dangerous as normal tobacco. i have yet to see any scientifically rigorous, peer-reviewed proof that water filtration, or lack of chemical additivites or whatever else makes tobacco (or nicotine/tobacco-free shisha) any safer. so until i do, it's burning plant matter, and it's almost certainly carcinogenic. that said, the occasional nature of shisha use for most people means it's probably not that big a problem. i would not make a habit out of it.

[bleedoutlove]

Thanks so so so so so much everyone :)

[Φρανκομβριτ]

Not really. We have a smoking ban here in England, too and shisha is often tolerated. It's totally illegal, just as much as smoking cigarettes indoors, but for cultural reasons the ban is often flouted.

Good thing too, since it's delicious. :D

Yeah, come to think of it, Canada (and the UK for that matter) has no balls in regrads to standing up to other cultures. But that's a WHOLE other debate

[snowblinded]

Shisha is only dangerous in the sense that breathing in any form of smoke isn't particularly good for you. As people have mentioned, you can get nicotine-free and tobacco-free ones which are really good as they take away alot of the danger that smoking shisha could have. I'd reccomend if you are planning to smoke it, these are best as they are basicly the same as the other type but safer plus they also come in plenty of good flavours too :)

[CaptainObvious]

Shisha is only dangerous in the sense that breathing in any form of smoke isn't particularly good for you. As people have mentioned, you can get nicotine-free and tobacco-free ones which are really good as they take away alot of the danger that smoking shisha could have. I'd reccomend if you are planning to smoke it, these are best as they are basicly the same as the other type but safer plus they also come in plenty of good flavours too :)

most of the danger of smoking is the smoking itself, not what it is that you're smoking. tobacco-free shisha is not particularly less dangerous, because it's still being smoked. it has the upside of not having nicotine and so not being addictive in the same way, though.

[Magus]

what? yes it absolutely does. it gets you nicotine high, like any other tobacco.I have tried it, never got nicotine high... maybe I had strong nicotine tolerance built up that time(I use to smoke cigarette, too).