Tuesday, 27 July 2010
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Hookah vs. Cigarettes: What's Your Take?
When I go out with my friends, I really like to smoke cigarettes. It helps me relax, and who doesn't like to let go once in a while? Smoking tobacco has been around since 5000-3000 B.C., after all. And besides, Mancouch's "Hitting Up Hookah" article said that everything is fine in moderation.
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Hookah smoking is not safer than cigarette smoking. The tobacco is no less toxic in a hookah pipe, and the water in the hookah does not filter out the toxic ingredients in the tobacco smoke. Hookah smokers may actually inhale more tobacco smoke than cigarette smokers do because of the large volume of smoke they inhale in one smoking session, which can last as long as 60 minutes."
Everyone gives cigarettes a bad rap... but hookah is at least as bad as cigarettes. And it seems that Xanga is okay with promoting that form of tobacco use.
Does it matter that there's such a disparity between how society views these two form of tobacco use? Or should we just "pick our poisons," and tell the American Cancer Society to get over it?
*Note: I don't actually smoke.
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- From: PlainXJane@xanga
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Comments (62)
1. Fuck shisha, wtf, pansy.
2. if you don't smoke, what's the point?
3. everyone thinks hookah bars are an awesome place to hang out. you can't put weed in it, it fucking sucks.
I <3 smoking. Marb reds f.t.w.
How about neither? Cuz smoking is bad for you. :]
Hookah is so much smoother than cigarettes, so I can see why some people might think what they're doing is healthier. Also, a lot of people are under the impression that hookah does not contain the same chemicals that cigarettes do. I smoke both, (plus one little extracurricular activity of mine, if you get my swing.) I, however, do not believe one is better than the other. It's something that keeps me from eating...ha. But anyone who smokes hookah themselves and is trying to condemn people who smoke cigarettes, is just being silly. Live and let live, people!
i'm pretty sure hookah is safer. you can't just look at one or two sources and make your decision
I like cigs, hey a hookas hard to carry around, and even thought it's smoother there is just way to much smoke comeing outof me waaaaaayyyy to much. it'slike a cloud or something. so yeah, cigs.
@yaneznayu@xanga - don't wanna bust your chops or anything but i've done both and there the same aside from the amount of smoke that you exhale when you hooka and it made my chest hurt, but other than that there the same.
cigarettes when i'm intoxicated
hookah when i want to chill and listen to music with friends.
i don't care what people do. do whatever the fuck you want. it's your body and you only live once.
Even if a hookah smoking session is technically more harmful than smoking a cigarette, I think it's important to look at the big picture. Most people (at least, the people I know) who smoke hookah do it as more of a social thing; something that you'd do to chill with friends. It doesn't happen all that often. On the other hand, most of the cigarette smokers I know can't go a day without smoking. Obviously, neither one is good for you. I've never heard of anybody being "addicted" to hookah though, which leads me to think that it's still the lesser of two evils.
I like both.
i like ciggs more
Hookahs are culturally important to the middle eastern minorities.
--which reminds me of the time we were at the beach some Arabic families came and had a picnic. They brought some hookahs. Our teenage daughter stared and whispered, "They got BONGS!"
Which has nothing to do with the post--but I thought was a cute story.
Cigarettes have always been in my life growing up. I never go out and buy a pack, but If someone I'm close with is lighting up I'll occasionally ask to piece it with them. However I went out and bought myself a hookah, and coals, and sheesha. I like to sit in my room with some friends, and light up. Or even take it to the hot tub. They're equally bad for you, and gross. Cigarettes are more addicting, in my opinion. I have never had the urge to smoke my hookah, like I have to piece a cigarette. So it all depends on what you personally like, and what you're going for. Hookah bars are amazing. Hookah is more of a social thing.
definitely hookahs
I always saw exclusive hookah smokers as people who wanted to look "cool" but were too afraid to smoke cigarettes because they didn't want to become nicotine fiends. I want to roll my eyes when I hear hookah smokers trying to fit in with the cigarette crowd by saying that they "smoke" as well. If you smoke hookah exclusively in social situations, then no, you're not a smoker. Might as well just be proud of the fact you're not addicted to nicotine and leave it at that; hookah doesn't impress anyone who puts nicotine in their body on a daily basis.
Personally hookah makes me feel ill and this is coming from someone who's been smoking for a long time. The sheer volume of smoke makes me feel like puking. At least with cigarettes you spread out your smoke intake; hookah is just far too much smoke at once.
hookah is to cigarettes what binge drinking is to cocktail/happy hour. i've never met ANYONE who has smoked hookah and gotten addicted. at best, i go to the hookah bar once a week because it's cheap, relaxed, and i can show up at any time and see at least two friends.
i don't condemn people who smoke cigarettes, at least not anymore than i condemn people who eat fast food every day. i just find it gross.
I have smoked both, and I smoke cigarettes quite a bit. But I definitely like hookahs better.
i love hookahs.
During my freshman year in college, one of my friends told me she tried hookah (she never smoked cigs) and insisted it wasn't bad, and then I gave her links like the one from Mayo Clinic. She quit after that.
I'd rather do neither of them, and I'm not going to bother taking a risk to see which one is worse. If I need to relax, I'll have a bubble bath with some classical music and an optional alcoholic drink. If other people prefer hookah or cigarettes or weed for entertainment and recreation, good for them.
Hookah IS probably better for you than cigarettes, because most people don't smoke it with the frequency that cig smokers do. It's the same as with marijuana- easier to enjoy in moderation.
I don't smoke anything really, unless I'm drunk...but I like to make "special" tea as a relaxant/medicine (if you catch my drift :) )
@ohletitbe@xanga - LOL, how much weed do you smoke? Nothing's wrong with it in moderation, but I think you smoke a bit too much.......otherwise your comment wouldn't have sounded so dumb
I'm a hookah fan and a clove cigarette fan!
I just don't smoke either very often.
there's no difference as far as the negative effects of tobacco go. Â Tobacco is tobacco and smoking it is not healthy. Â The difference is the additives that are usually put in cigarettes. Â Those chemicals make it even more bad for you. Â They also make cigarettes more addicting. Â Smoking hookah is bad because you could sit there smoking for an hour, but the large majority of cigarette smokers are addicted and therefore end up smoking a lot more over time. Â Many hookah smokers smoke a lot at once but far less frequently. Â It's more of a social thing.
Hookah fans, don't fool yourselves into thinking it's not that bad for you, but I do think it is better than being a cigarette smoker.
If there's no weed, it's no good! lol.
@yaneznayu@xanga - when it comes to cigarettes, hookah is safer in the fact that there is no filter that has 400 chemicals in it, BUT its a MUCH larger concentration of smoke inhalation so it still is worse in that aspect.
and regardless tobacco is bad for you, haha
@haley1262@xanga - pothead! lol