If you guessed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you'd be
wrong. No, this book was written nearly 100 years before Roald Dahl's tale of
Charlie. The book (and later movie) that gives children their first glimpse of
this curious device is Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice
in Wonderland, wrote about an inquisitive, smoking caterpillar. You may
remember Sammy Davis, Jr., perched atop a giant mushroom, asking young Alice,
"Who ... Are ... You?" The device the caterpillar was smoking is
called a hookah!
Hookahs have been around,
in one form or another, for several centuries with their origins generally
traced back to what is modern day Turkey. Needing a way to cool the smoke that
leaves a tobacco pipe, the Turkish developed a way for the smoke to first pass
through water before being inhaled. This cooled the smoke and gave the hookah
its trademark bubbling sound.
Modern hookahs have evolved in design but still perform the
same, simplistic function as the hookahs of old. The tobacco that is smoked in
the hookah has also seen evolution and change. Originally, tobaccos would be
mixed with molasses or honey and placed in the bowl-like apparatus atop the
hookah. Coals would be directly-applied to this mixture and, instead of
burning, the tobacco would be heated to the appropriate temperature to create
smoke. Today's hookah tobacco, commonly referred to as 'shisha,' is made with
modern components. Tobacco, glycerin and sugar are combined with countless
flavors to produce a truly unique smoking experience. The flavors range from
fruity apples and oranges to cultural favorites like bubble gum and cola. In
fact, there are over 50 flavors available to today's hookah smokers!
As mentioned before, the tobacco is heated rather than burned.
The hookah tobacco is generally void of the chemical additives found in
cigarettes. In fact, hookah tobacco is usually composed of only tobacco,
glycerin, sugar and flavoring. This is a far cry from the nearly 600 additives
that can legally be added to cigarettes. These additives also transform into
other chemicals when burned - a process that happens every time a cigarette is
lit and smoked.
Cigars, another 'natural smoke,' have long been the gourmet
smoke among smokers and socialites. They have a "good ol' boy"
reputation that makes it socially unwelcome for women to smoke and are usually
found in cigar bars and private clubs. For years, cigars have had no real
competition and the hookah stands poised to edge out a serious piece of the
gourmet smoking market.
Hookahs come in all sizes, makes and colors. They are crafting
of everything from acrylic to crystal, which allows them to traverse the social
lines. People can spend anywhere from $20 to $5,000 to find the hookah of their
dreams. There are even custom hookah producers who, if you cannot find the
hookah you are seeking, will build a hookah that is completely personalized and
truly yours.
The cigar bars of yesteryear are finding themselves in direct
competition with a new type of business that is sprouting up everywhere. From
college towns to bustling metropolises, hookah bars and cafes are becoming the
new, trendy place to hang out and smoke. Patrons can rent a hookah (or bring
their own) and smoke for anywhere from $7.00 to $20.00 per bowl of tobacco.
Each bowl of tobacco can be smoked for nearly an hour, making this an
inexpensive alternative to cigars and other smokes.
More than anything, the hookah provides its participants with a
wholly-unique, intimate environment that has no boundaries or rules. Everyone
is allowed and dreams, thoughts and opinions fly, completely unabated.
Business entrepreneurs are recognizing the curious draw that the
hookah has over customers. The investment to open a hookah bar or cafe pails in
comparison to the funds required to open a cigar bar. There's no need for an
elaborate humidor and, in fact, one could even get away with just offering
hookahs. It's no wonder that hookah bars are one of the fastest growing
concepts among modern day bars and cafes. As simplistic as the hookah's design,
a hookah business is incredibly easy for first-time business owners to own and
operate and requires a minimum in upfront capital investments.
So, from a hookah-smoking caterpillar to the day's newest craze,
hookahs have come a long way. Only time will tell if they have a chance against
cigars and other gourmet smokes but one thing's for sure: hookahs are here to
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