A hookah lounge (also called shisha bar or den , especially in the UK and parts of Canada, or hookah bar b >) is a place where customers share a shisha from a communal hookah or placed on any table or a bar.
Often, hookah lounges are owned and operated by people from the Arab world, origin and/or other areas where the use of hookah is a centuries-old tradition. Many hookah lounges incorporate elements such as Islamic decor and Arabic or Indian music. In Europe this is no longer a fact and hookah lounge is just a bar without the elements of eastern culture.
Video Hookah lounge
Characteristics
Hookah lounges are mostly found in college towns and urban areas and are considered by some as a new and chic way to socialize and embrace multiculturalism. Certain waiting rooms offer modern hookah with fruit bowls or other types of fixes other than smoking hookah at home. Some people from Middle Eastern or South Asian extraction regard them as a continuation of their own cultural traditions. Hookah lounges today often distance themselves from eastern cultures that offer hookah and alcohol without any cultural elements. These blades are different from other blades just because they offer hookahs.
Usually a disposable spokesperson is provided for each user for hygiene reasons. Hookah lounges usually do not have liquor licenses but earn most of their income from the sale of coffee, tea, soft drinks and snacks. Almost all offer Turkish coffee.
Some hookah lounges have fully equipped kitchens and are more akin to bistros. In a broad sense, any restaurant or nightclub can be considered a hookah lounge if it offers its customers hookahs, shisha and a comfortable place to smoke. Some offer a menu of Middle Eastern cuisine.
Because of some state anti-tobacco laws, many hookah bars have made the transition from traditional shisha smoking to smoked herbal shisha because it does not contain tobacco, or nicotine and legal indoors in areas specific to the smoking ban on tobacco. Herbs produce tar when they burn.
Maps Hookah lounge
History
Hookah in its first and simplest form comes from India. It soon traveled west to Iran, Turkey, and Egypt, where it gained mass popularity. The lounge has a clear antecedent in the tradition of coffee houses in the Middle East and Turkey, where people smoke tobacco from hookahs or other water pipe styles provided by the establishment. In this traditional setting hookah is usually from a variety of single hoses. This is different from the preferred multi-hose varieties in the hookah room and is intended to emphasize the communal nature of the activity.
In Europe
- Germany - Hookahs are available in many places in Germany, especially in Berlin, Cologne, and Ruhr and Region regions, and are not only popular among Turks.
- Dutch - Hookahs are now gaining popularity in the Netherlands, especially in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
- Great Britain - In Britain, hookahs are most often found in "shisha bars" run by Lebanese, Pakistani or Egyptian. Since the British ban in 2007 smoking in public places, Shisha's bar has increased from 179 in 2007 to 556 in 2012. Birmingham also has a large number of Shisha lounges as well as Shabbi Shics in the town of Digbeth.
- Spanish - The use of Hookah has grown in popularity in Spain, especially among young people. As a result, many teterÃÆ'as (tea houses) have made hookah available to customers.
- Russia - Due to the great influence of the Caucasus and Central Asia, hookahs have become widespread recreational practices in major Russian cities, and are now offered in many cafes and restaurants.
- Denmark - Hookah Lounge has gained immense popularity in recent years. You can most likely find hookah lounges in every sizeable city. Aarhus, Odense, and Copenhagen which are the biggest citites in Denmark, you can no doubt find several hookah lounges in each of these cities.
In the United States
In the United States, companies similar to the hookah lounge first opened decades ago in the immigrant quarters of New York City and Los Angeles, California as coffee and tea houses. Hookah is not the main focus of the business until the Hookah Lounge in Las Vegas presents it as the main offering. The coach is usually the people of Middle Eastern descent The first establishment to call himself Hookah Lounge, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Hookah Lounge creates the entire Hookah experience, special cocktails, and Middle Eastern food. The decor is Moroccan. They registered the name in 2000 and started using the Hookahlounge.com URL. They have two locations in Las Vegas. This is the first full service bar to focus its business around hookah services. The Hookah Lounge in Las Vegas opened in 2000 by owner Paymon Raouf and operator Jeff Ecker. The Hookah Lounge in Las Vegas initially defended the use of the Hookah Lounge name but became too commonly used and too expensive to maintain. They are now using the term Native American Hookah Lounge in advertisements to better identify them as the first to operate in a major lounge setting.
Many hookah halls in the United States have modern elements such as glass tables, plasma televisions, and oxygen bars. Most US bars require customers to be at least 18 years of age to smoke shisha and 18 years to buy (exceptions are Utah, Arizona, Alabama, and New Jersey: 19 years for smoking, New York is 21 years of age).
One hookah and shisha supplier claims:
This is his biggest demand in this country... I do not think it will go anytime soon. There is more room for the product to expand. Only a small percentage of Americans know about it.
Over the past few years, hookah has generally become increasingly popular for young adults; those who are only at the legal age to smoke in their country. Not infrequently now find bar hookah within a short distance from the campuses and in the surrounding cities. This young generation has revitalized the hookah market, the hookah bar is successful and remains open despite the indoor smoking ban For private hookah smokers, many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean markets now offer hookah products for sale.
Smoking ban and exclusion
The use of Hookah has increased dramatically among young Americans and Europeans in recent years because of the social atmosphere it creates, and since many young adults believe the hookah is a safer alternative to smoking; therefore, they do not fully understand the health effects that accompany it.
Many municipalities, especially in North America and Europe have imposed a ban on smoking in public places. Sometimes, however, businesses can obtain special permits that allow smoking inside; this permit is usually only available for hookah lounges, cigar bars, tobacco sellers, and similar companies where smoking is the focus of activity. They are rarely available for places where alcohol or food is served.
In some cases, the ban was against tobacco in particular. When this happens, the hookah lounge can remain in business by replacing the traditional tobacco-based shisha with a tobacco-free Mu'assel.
To keep it open, many hookah lounges can not sell food or drink. About 90% of cities that have banned smoking in public places have an exception to the hookah lounge. Cities with this exception, typically, have a denser population.
Public health issues
Because hookah lounges are exempt from smoking bans, and since hookah trends are rising at a high level among youth, many believe it is a public health concern. Many hookah users do not understand the health risks that go with it. Common beliefs including shisha are not addictive, and smoke contains fewer carcinogens. Hookah smoke contains the same chemicals found in cigarettes, it is not safer because it is often smoked, it is addictive, and even if tobacco is filtered with water, carcinogens are not filtered. For this reason, many cities want to create tight restrictions for hookah lounges, and some want them closed completely.
References
Further reading
- "Putting a Crimp in the Hookah" article by Douglas Quenqua at The New York Times 30 May 2011
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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