is smoking through a water pipe better for you?
Fatback
6,746 Posts
How many folks have a place in their town where they can go puff the water pipes? 
not for weed but...tobacco. with the coal and the flavors.We are going to research whether or not using tobacco with these pipes is less harmful than cigarettes.Who's tried these? 
not for weed but...tobacco. with the coal and the flavors.We are going to research whether or not using tobacco with these pipes is less harmful than cigarettes.Who's tried these?
Comments
We have a couple actually, I think for the north-african community in Amsterdam.
And to answer your question, it's not necessarily "better," since you're still inhaling tabacco smoke, but it's much smoother -- the steam from the bubbling water combined with the exotic flavors (tangerine, etc.) make the experience much more pleasant than a pack of Marlboro Lights.
Are you still in DC? If so, there's plenty of Hookah places around. If you're not, many amiguously-themed "Mediterranian/Middle Eastern" restaurants have hookahs available.
I???ve used them myself. Narghile or hubble bubble etc. There are many terms. Water pipe is used in the literature.
I should clarify. I am a graduate student in Behavioral Pharmacology at Virginia Commonwealth University. We conduct research on tobacco. We have recently been collaborating with Syrian researchers. We are looking at aspects of water pipe use. One important question is whether or not these pipes reduce exposure to the harmful properties of tobacco.
I just wanted to get a sense from yall. Do you think its not as bad?
I had read that the water thing was an old theory that had been dismissed by most studies. But you wou would be in a position to know how many actual 'studies' have been done. I read that in the article that accompanied the pic you have at the top of this thread. There was just a piece in the Post regarding DC hookah joints and how popular they are with the hipster set. A reason cited is that the water pipes were 'safer' than smoking cigarettes, but the writer pointed out that if you examine the intensity of the smoking session in one of these places, it might not really wash.
As I mentioned earlier, I don't think Hookahs are necessarily better, just smoother. You can even forsake the flavors and get a tobacco-flavored hookah. And the amount of smoke you ingest in a single sitting can be amazing -- it's like chain-smoking a pack. A Pakistani friend's uncle had to quit the hookah because of constant weezing. He never went to the doctor to have it checked out, but I'm guessing it was emphysema. Whether or not it was caused by the water pipe, who knows?
BTW, I've had some friends graduate (and other drop out) from the VCU Pharmacology program; it's a cool little school.
Has anyone tried those weed "vaporizors"? Those are supposedly better for you than smoking, too.
Again, you are still smoking something so I'm sure it still isn't the best for you. All that's happening with a vaporizer is that mad hot air is being blown over the weed. This doesn't actually char the leaves whcih makes for less smoke. The weirdest thing is that you never feel your lungs full up. All of the sudden, you're effortlessy blowing out smoke.
Actually, the way it was explained to me is that you are not actually "smoking" anything, because nothing is burning, though you are inhaling. Did you like it?
The amount of chemical bi products used to keep mainstream cigarette's fresh are mind boggling.
i want one of those vaporisers though...
What is most harmful about smoking tobacco though...the tabacco itself or the pesticides, herbacides/etc. sprayed on the tabaccoo?
Tabacco used to be used as an effective medicine...until the corporations got ahold of it.
Smoking anything can over time irritate your throat and lungs a bit...but IMO that's hardly the cause of the plague-like dangers of smoking as we know them today.
The heat must be breaking down the chemicals some how so that you can smoke them. You do blow something out when you are done inhaling. I really don't have much of clue as to how it is done or works, but it was definitely better than smoking expensive ass weed out of a pipe. Much cleaner for sure in the sense that you do not get any burnt taste at all.
Will I be buying one soon, no...but if your friend has one, I'd definitely would be trying to use it from time to time. Nonetheless, I prefer the more conventional methods of smoking because it is well, smoking.
you actually are burning plenty. the whole idea behind a vaporizer is to get the thing to a temperature that will burn (vaporize) the active ingredients, primarily the cristals and edges of leaves, without getting hot enough to actually ignite the more pulpy material of the weed which is much lower in thc content. the result is you smoke less because you are smoking the more concentrated part of the plant. if you smoke less for the same results, you should be coming out ahead in the health equation.
with water pipes, i would think there are some advantages in that the water certainly serves as a filter for heavy particles that would otherwise end up in the lungs, but also because it greatly reduces the temperature of the smoke entering the lungs. it is my understanding that the high temperature of the smoke is a major contributor/amplifier to the harm the chemicals in tobacco causes.
From what I gather, it heats the bud (without burning it) in a contained glass, drying the bud while capturing the evaporated water vapor (and THC included) for you to inhale.
It also requires a smaller amount of bud than smoking because nothing is lost in the air. (I had a nice long conversation with the nice lady in a tattoo shop in the village).
Don't smoke nargilehs much, but I do spend a disproportionate amount of my time with chicks that look vaguely like these ones.
Girl on the right: Damn did I eat that whole plate of labneh and shish taouk? Somebody take this...
yeah, i'm digging how she's holding that "mouth piece".
Tobacco itself is a class carcinogen. For example, take a fresh unprocessed organic tobacco leave put it in your shoe everyday for 10 years and you will have malignant tumor on your foot.
All I know is that it tastes better, feels better the next day and is a much funner ritual. And that I have photos of my parents looking very cool smoking the hookah when they were young. Not very scientific.
But your foot will be alive with flavor!!!![/b]
if you ain't had one all day and you're starting to jones...will some hookah puffs do the trick?
I knew it! Don't do it Frank, you're just trying to find a way to keep smoking, without "smoking".
Are you taking anything to help you quit, or are you doing it cold turkey?
That Nicoderm patch has been helping me so far and I'm on day 4.
I think Coselmed said that, in conjunction with Zyban or Welburtin, will help almost anyone quit.
Alot of it (for me anyway) has to do with your mental state. I find that simply not thinking about it helps me. When the thought comes in my mind I just switch to something else cause I know it does me no good to think about it. Then I remember that the urge will pass. Jacking off while jogging in place will get your mind off it when all else fails.
nah dude. i'm done. been a month. i had to go cold turkey. i tried all kinds of shit. moving helped a lot. new location etc. even though I moved to the tobacco capital of the world!
i'm piloting my research study with all these hookah questions.
does anyone know if there has been much study on people who smoke only (or primarily) the tweeds, in terms of risks of cancer or other illness..? i used to have a perfect record, had never smoked even one cigg..ended up falling into the trap of smoking ciggs whilst pissy drunk and since enjoy the occasional smoke when i'm drinking, but i'd still say i've had less than 100 ciggs in the past 5 years...whats up with the folks like me? water filtered or not, that thick rush of hot smoke straight to the lungs has got to be just as bad as a bunch of ciggs or no?
if anyone knows anything about this link me up, id like to read up..
there was study that came out few years ago citing that casual smokers are equally at risk fopr smoking related illness. will take a minute to find.
oof - has it been that long already? Congrats on that dude. I went cold turkey for about that long, told myself "ahh, well, I know I can quit so I can keep smoking!". Crazy rationale.
Sorry I don't know no hookahs though.
weed does not contain significant levels of nitrosamines, but the combustion of anything produces carbon monoxide which is very toxic.
brownies.
my bad
Smoking cannabis damages the lungs and contributes to respiratory problems like chronic coughing and lung infections. The levels of tar, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and nitrosamines in cannabis are similar to those in tobacco. Heavy marijuana smokers have lung damage similar to the kind that precedes the development of lung cancer in tobacco smokers. There are also reports suggesting that people who smoke both marijuana and tobacco may develop lung, neck and head cancers at an earlier age than those who smoke only tobacco.
Nothing is burned with a vape. It's not smoke, it's vapor, like steam. The THC oils are basicaly boiled out of the leaf without combusting anything. Vapes have been out for years now. Experiments have been made, and so far all results are either inconclusive or pro-vape. The same psychologically addictive quallities remain... but physically vaping is a much healthier choice. I got one several months ago and I've basically stopped smoking ( except when I'm not at home ). It was weird at first, but im used to it now. I smoked yesterday and that shit tasted nasty.