New Tobacco Business with Hookahs
As it is known cigarettes smoking were banned in public places but hookahs were not affected by this new legislation. Andy Brunette, the Dreas Hookah Lounge manager explained that a hookah is a tobacco-smoking machine with a glass base filled with water or juice, with an attached metal stem, a hose and a ceramic bowl.
A burning charcoal rests on foil covering the bowl, which is filled with strip-leaf tobacco combined with molasses. This acts as a heating element to vaporize, not burn, the tobacco known as shisha, remitting the natural nicotine and the sugar from molasses.
Brunette added that it isn’t the same tobacco found in cigarettes or cigars. The tobacco used for hookahs has a lower nicotine concentration, and contains no chemical additives and usually comes in fruit flavors such as strawberry or papaya.
Even the vapor emitted by hookahs is first filtered through the base’s water before going through an inhaling hose. Thanks to water filtration the hookahs smoke become very smooth.
However it still has health risks, because it is a tobacco product also which can harm the people’s health. According to a lot of studies, hookahs could lead to increased risks of gum disease and other health problems.
In general, the use of hookahs dates to the 16th century for the first time in India. It has then gained fame in the Middle East and is gaining admirers in North America.
The Hookah label tends to relate to Middle Eastern culture. For example, the hookah itself should not be higher than eye level.
Another rule is to only use the right hand to hold the hose because the left hand is considered unclean, Mr. Brunette explained. Another rule of smoking hookahs is the following: when finished with one’s turn, it is recommended to set the hose down on the table and allow the next smoker to pick it up rather than directly passing it off.
Smokers won’t have to worry about loading the hookah either, a somewhat complicated process for a beginner.
Brunette confessed that he first tried hookah years ago at a friend’s lounge in Sheboygan, Wis. “I just fell in love with it basically. It was a very sweet taste,” he said.
In this way he has became an expert of sorts, smoking a hookah one or two times each day. But the decision to open his lounge has been a two-year process.
