Also: coolest thing I learned about hookah today:

[xiphias]

So, like I said, today, we were trained on hookah, a topic I previously knew nothing about. I smoked one maybe twice.

The most interesting thing I learned is that you can get tobacco for hookahs that contains only minimal amounts of actual tobacco (and, in fact, those mostly-not-tobacco "tobaccos" are the only kind that Tangierino sells.) You CAN get actual-tobacco tobacco, but that's not what people are mostly smoking, at least not in Boston. No, and not cannabis, either, at least not in public. They're mostly smoking mixtures of fruit. The one that we tried was mainly lemon peel and molasses. It contained about five percent tobacco by volume, and some percentage of the nicotine would have been absorbed by the water in the hookah. Oh, you're still breathing smoke, so I certainly wouldn't recommend it for asthmatics, but the nicotine may well be trivial.

Neat, hunh?

Comments

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

The only thing I can think of that's dumber than inhaling cigarette smoke on purpose is inhaling smoke that *doesn't even contain a drug* on purpose.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Dude, my job is selling a flammable poison to people for consumption. I'm not going to complain about these things.

Besides, inhaling smoke in a controlled manner is fun. That's why I smoke a pipe, without inhaling. I sometimes smoke tobacco, sometimes smoke sage and cloves. Because I like the smell and taste of the smoke, and I like the process of smoking, and I don't much care for the drug effects of nicotine.

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

I just don't get it. I mean, I'm okay with there being plenty of things in this world that I just don't get, but there it is. :-)

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I didn't, either.

When I don't understand something, I try it, trying to understand what there is about it that attracts other people to it. Sometimes, I find the thing that attracts other people to it, and I decide whether it's something I would enjoy, and, if so, what the risk are, whether they're minimizable, and if the risk is worth the reward.

In wondering what people enjoyed about smoking, I discovered that I enjoy pipe smoking, and that the drug effects of tobacco itself isn't part of the reason why, particularly. Hookah smoking is a very different process from pipe smoking -- for me, pipe smoking is a solitary meditative activity, and hookah smoking is a social activity, if a laid-back, relaxed one. Its status as social, though, prevents it from being meditative for me.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoy it. YKIOK.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

What on earth is the *point*? I understand the appeal of smoking tobacco, when we're talking about it as a drug delivery system. It's amazingly fast and easy to control. For self-medication of directly perceptible conditions that tobacco helps with, it's very attractive. Breathtakingly dangerous, but still attractive. (Sudden thought: the big push to make smoking unacceptable may have a second order effect of trading ADHD for lung diseases.)

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Your thought is one that's been investigated a bit -- hard to investigate well, but it does look like there's something to that idea.

Also, we now have better things to use than alcohol for things that people use alcohol for, which, one would hope, could potentially remove one source of alcohol abuse.

As to the other point, see my response above.

[linenoise.livejournal.com]

I've smoked cigars a handful of times, and cigarettes once.

When I smoked cigars, it was a social thing, generally alongside the consumption of alcohol, and it had nothing to do with nicotine. They *taste* good, and the sensation of smoking is enjoyable.

The time I tried a cigarette.... I have never in my life been so tempted to self-medicate with something that I knew to be dangerous. Above and beyond the temptation (that I give in to all too often) to self-medicate depression with alcohol. I've never in my life felt that alert and awake, even under the influence of the high-grade stimulants.

The only problem is that I *know* that cigs will kill me, if I start. Doesn't stop me from wanting to go buy some.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Have you tried a nicotine inhaler? I know they're supposed to be for people giving up, but I can't see why they shouldn't be for people who want the effects without the cancer. If you did try one, I'd be interested to know if it had the same effect.

[cheshyre]

I am often tempted to purchase and try nicotine gum, just to see what it's like. So far, I've held off, but I am quite curious.

[dillonpuff.livejournal.com]

for the most part nicotine doesn't do much for you. the reason smokers find it so relaxing or whatnot is because they are addicted and relieving the craving of addiction makes them feel better.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Nicotine gives me one hell of a head rush, but it only lasts about 30 seconds. And when it goes, it keeps its claws in, so I want another one...

Having experienced that makes me more determined than ever not to start smoking. Because I know how easy it would be for me to get addicted. It took a serious act of will for me to give the cigarette back to its owner and not take a second puff.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I've always wanted to try a hookah -- they're elegant and I enjoy the smell when I've walked past outdoor hookah tables. Finding someone(s) to go to a hookah bar with has been the challenge.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Actually, that *does* sound kind of neat.

[usmu.livejournal.com]

Hi, rolled on by because theferrett mentioned you and liked what I read. So I added you to my friends list. Let me know if you mind.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Welcome aboard!

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

While I don't have asthma, I've had enough respiratory illnesses to quash any desire to smoke anything. That said, I've always been disappointed that none of my smoking friends and past boyfriends favored pipe smoking (instead of cigarettes or the even smellier cigars). I love the smell of a being in a tobacco shop. Now that I think back on it, I think my neighbor (and effectively my American grandfather) smoked a pipe. I wonder if that's where I get a positive association in my mind with that smell? Anyhow, hookahs seem cool to look at for me. but they hold the same fascination as bongs. I remember one party where I kept eyeing the bong and asking questions about it but never wanted to try so much as a single puff. Instead I pestered the others about "so...what are you feeling right now?" I wonder if my questions bugged them.