Holy smoke! Hookahs are hot. Those ancient Middle Eastern water pipes are popping up in South Florida restaurants from Delray Beach to Miami. Featuring fruit-flavored tobacco, the ornate pipes are presented with pomp and ceremony after a meal. Sometimes for a price, of course. Go figure. At a time when voters are considering a change in the state constitution to ban smoking at most indoor workplaces, including restaurants, we continue to drift from one smoking trend to another. First the cigar frenzy, then the Indian bidi and now the hookah.

Hookah smoking has been a part of history for approximately 400 years. Typically, those who engage in this social activity do so in a hookah bar or café. In recent years the hookah lounge has made appearances in the United States and Canada. They are very popular among college and university students in the U.S. Even more recently there has been a swell of use most notably among teenagers.

The Buddha may not have wanted to be thought of as "funky." But even he would be hard pressed to find a more serene, relaxing alternative to beer-chugging contests, velvet ropes or scowling bouncers. On a Friday night, Boca Raton's Funky Buddha Lounge is full but not jam-packed with young, well-dressed patrons grouped around tables, taking hits from the tendrils of ornate hookahs. The smell is a clash of fruit, incense, Middle Eastern food and various unidentifiable tobacco flavors. Comfortable cushions line the walls, and the feel is laid-back with a touch of maharaja.

What is a Hookah?
A hookah (or hooka) is a water pipe. These have been used for centuries in Asia and the Middle East to smoke tobacco. The main fuel of this growing trend is found to be among teens and young adults.

A hookah consists of four parts:

a smoke chamber, or base which is partially filled with water
a bowl that contains tobacco and the heating source
a pipe that connects the bowl to the base and dips into the water in the base
a hose (second tube) in the pipe that does not dip into the water but opens up into the air in the base allowing the user to inhale the smoke
When a smoker inhales through the tube, a pressure difference forces air past the heating source, heating tobacco; therefore, it gives off smoke. The smoke is pulled away from the tobacco and passes through the water into the smoke chamber. Then it is inhaled.

Shisha or Sheesha
Shisha is flavored hookah tobacco. There is a myriad of available flavors including licorice, a wide selection of fruit flavors, mint, rose, herbals, spices, molasses and even cola flavor.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com