I have a sheesha bar and I open at 7pm every day. I was meant to get a visit from the environmental health service, but I do not know if they will come out after 7pm. Is it possible they would pay a visit to my sheesha lounge after 7pm?

Sadly, I cannot offer a definitive yes or no to your question. Maybe you’ll get one, but how would you know it was true? Better ring them up, pretend to be somebody else and attempt to glean the info from the source.

With a little luck, they’ll leave you alone. Health regulations today are so excessive, it’s not funny anymore. People know well enough that the system is stupid. They avoid the bad places all by themselves. After all, there would be no penalty if I got a sandwich which tasted of bleach, because that’s supposed to be a good thing, but if your bare hand touches it, I can sue you. Where’s the logic? In India you can get beautiful snacks cooked for you at the side of the road in filthy little stalls, but it makes no difference to the food quality, which is generally tremendously good.

Meanwhile, we have all these allergies because we live in pristine environments with no germs at all, so the slightest thing messes our immune system right up. Go figure.

I am about to light up my hookah again, and I need to know what I can add to raspberry shisha for a different taste. I only have double apple and coconut, so any type of spices or something to add to the base would be easy for me. Any suggestions?

I would grab a bottle of a cranberry cocktail like Cran-Apple or Cran-Pomegranate and add about 6 ounces to your base for some good flavor.

Adding 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries or other fruit will be wonderful. It cools the smoke, and the flavor increases as it melts because the flavors release into the water!

Do you like to smoke hookah? What do you like to see in Hookah bars? How often do you go to Hookah bars?

These are some basic questions I am curious about. I had posted a survey on here, but that is against the Community Guidelines. This information will assist me in my creation of a Hookah Bar in PA.

I love smoking Hookah. Simple reason: I don’t drink, I don’t like to go clubbing or any of that, I just like to sit down with my friends, talk and relax. So I smoke hookah.

I just realized you said you are opening one - excellent; I’ve been waiting to tell an owner what they need to do:

1. Seating MUST BE COMFORTABLE, smoking hookah is something people do to relax, so make it relaxing. Don’t make the seats all high and smashed in together so you’re stuck basically on someone else’s lap…get some low couches or something, just don’t make it metal chairs w/ garbage tables and all that.

2. Ventilation — whether indoor or outdoor, make sure that the air in the place is being refreshed, NOT RECYCLED, nobody likes to go home smelling like a bonfire.

3. FLAVORS, its all about having good flavors. Make some special mixes, and for godsake, if you have two flavors that someone wants mixed, just mix them, it takes two minutes…and experiment, make new flavors all the time. Oh, and keep Al Fakhar and Starbuzz, not just one of the two. Trust me – when it comes to the type of hookah tobacco you use, its a make or break for real hookah smokers.

4. REWARDS CARDS — reward people for being there. There are too many places to smoke hookah these days. If you don’t have a reason for people to come back, they wont, they’ll just go where anyone suggests. So if you have a rewards card, people will get their friends to go there so they can get points and earn rewards like free hookah after 10 visits or something – it’s up to you really.

5. CUSTOMER SERVICE…who the hell wants to go somewhere and try to relax when the owner and his workers are jerks, or play favoritism. I hate going somewhere and feeling like I walked in to a members only club…I’m a customer too - treat me like one.

6. DRINKS —Ohhh man, I don’t know if this is possible really but, if you did this and I lived in PA, dude I would be there every day…Charge more, but get a damn fountain drink machine and give FREE OR CHEAP refills, and cheap means like 25cents or so…cause you get thirsty. Then you want to leave cause the damn drinks are $3 and they’re filled with ice and you can’t afford to drink any more.

7. MUSIC—No repetitive stuff. Play some rock, some rap, some of that damn Arab stuff (only if the Arabs are there, nobody else wants to listen to it), some other stuff. Rap only feels like a club, rock only feels like a white place, Arab music feels like hell, so mix it up.

That is a good bunch of stuff. I better get a vote for best answer.

I think I got like a ton more suggestions…let me know if you want the full list.

Could somebody please tell me what are the full ingredients in flavored shisha? Not just molasses, glycerin and honey. But what is in the molasses and the rest? Thanks in advance.
I thought it had no tobacco in it. Because a lot of packages say like 0% nicotine 0% tar.

I have talked to a couple of shisha manufacturers (Tangiers and Epic), not Al Fakher, unfortunately. Without giving away secrets, the process is what makes it happen. They most likely use a drying/curing process with tobacco, molasses, and the flavoring agent of choice. That creates the shisha. There are no other ingredients known to me.

Your second point addresses the health controversy regarding if hookah smoking is more or less healthful than cigarette smoking. I think the manufacturers can get away with saying 0% nicotine and 0% tar because the tobacco doesn’t actually burn in the hookah – only the flavor of the shisha is in the smoke.

I recently bought a new hookah and hookah hose, I have been smoking and just now I inhaled a light brown-ish residue…this has NEVER happened before. What could it be? Serious answers only. Thanks everyone!

Ahh, the light brown-ish hookah residue issue…
It’s bound to happen, it can either mean 2 things:
1- the tobacco you’re using is rich in juice, you’ll need to dry it with a paper towel before you put the tobacco in the head thingy.
2- the hose is condensing from all the smoke + strong tobacco..
the best way to deal with this is to wash the hose, let it dry, AND dry the tobacco.
I’ve been on the Hookah for many many years now, and this will always be an issue, you need to keep the hookah clean, and the tobacco juice-free. enjoy.

I know a lot of moms smoke cigarettes while nursing… but is hookah smoking ok? My baby is one month old. I only do it like once a day. And when I say hookah I mean “just” hookah, nothing illegal… just the flavored sticky stuff you can buy in most smoke shops.

While smoking anything while you’re breast feeding isn’t advisable, I was told by a nutritionist that a smoking woman’s breast milk is still better for the baby than formula is. Note: I’m not bashing FF here as I’m FFing for personal reasons. Just wanted to let you know.

Starbuzz is expensive and doesn’t really get me buzzed unless I smoke more than I am comfortable smoking. However, it is without tar, which to me is very important. I’m looking for a brand that has thick smoke, no tar, and gets me buzzed. Not Starbuzz, it says so on the label “0% tar.” And FDA approved. I’m sure it can’t be the only one.

First, all shisha tobacco has no added tar. Second, minimal tar is created because it’s cooked, not burned. So any hookah tobacco you find will be tar free.

Buzzed, huh. Well, Starbuzz is washed, it has as little nicotine as it can have without being herbal.

For a bigger buzz look at:
hookah-shisha.com/store/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=3&idaffiliate=284
Romman, Nakhla, Tangiers (I would start with Lucid), Fumari or Fantasia.

How many hookah coals do I? I’ve heard that less coals result in a longer smoke session. Is there a minimum of coals I need, or would one work ?

Well yes and no. Theoretically the less heat the slower it cooks. But it really comes down to bowls and tobacco. Most tobaccos can not handle multiple rounds of coals, even if there is some uncached at the bottom.

hookah-shisha.com/store/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=3&idaffiliate=284

Tangiers is the best known for handling this, because it was designed to. Romman and Nakhla can from time to time, but not as well.

I smoke strictly out of phunnels now, for everything.

hookah-shisha.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=2299&idaffiliate=284

The phunnel design allows better air flow around the tobacco and not through it so the tobacco will last longer, hold in juices better, and just smoke better all night long! typical phunnel goes 2-3 hours for me using Coconara Coals.

hookah-shisha.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=2652&idaffiliate=284

I would use 2 Whole Cocos or 3 Half Cocos. Just use a knife and hit the coals to break them.

Can I legally bring and smoke hookah outside (example: a bonfire at a beach) in California?A couple of friends of mine and I are planning to have a bonfire. We are all over the age of 18 and will only be smoking LEGAL tobacco, nothing funny. Is it legal to smoke hookah outside, in public, in the state of California - more specifically San Diego? We are just looking to kick back and enjoy ourselves. We really don’t want to get into anything.

It should be legal anywhere it’s legal to smoke a cigarette. Just be prepared to prove that you’re not smoking illegal substances. And have fun!

Recently in Mumbai, I came across many joints and restaurants advertising ‘Hookah Available’. Out of curiosity, I ventured into one of the places and saw some young boys and girls smoking some kind of a liquid through a pipe. I was shocked to see that, and the restaurant manager told me that it doesn’t give a high at all. Then my question to him and also to you is, “Why does one smoke hookah pipes?” Isn’t it unhealthy for your lungs and windpipe? Where did this habit originate?

A hookah is a fancy pipe that one smokes flavored tobacco out of. Its a social kind of thing one does at parties or bars. Think of it like a modern version of beer; instead of having a couple buddies come chill and have a few beers, it’s smoke hookah, which also works well for the under 21 folk. The tobacco has reduced niccotine and no tar, its about as clean as you can get from smoke. Don’t get me wrong – I ain’t sayin it’s good for you, but it beats the hell out of suckin on a smelly cigarette (hookah smoke smells like its flavored; i.e., orange-flavored hookah makes a room smell like oranges – if you don’t believe me try it ). I personally find joy in makin elephant sized clouds with it, which is also something you wont get in a cig. Hookah originated in the Middle East.