DD aged 16 wants a Shisha

[BettySuarez]

I shit you not!

She has just returned from a festival where they were all smoking it but apparently it's fine because it was Watermelon flavoured and not tobacco at all (right!)

She's not having one but I am tired and can't be arsed to have a sensible discussion tonight so could I have some suitable responses from Mumsnetters please?

Watermelon my arse

I had to google as I hadn't a clue what this was about.

Found this article about it.
blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/03/15/is-shisha-as-harmful-as-cigarettes/

I think that one of my main concerns is that it could lead to bigger things but then that could be said for almost anything I suppose

All the ones I have ever seen / smoked have had tobacco in and I heard an hour with one of those is the equivalent of about 40 fags

Ive only ever had the tobacco flavour free ones courtesy of my neighbour. Trust me. You wouldnt want it being used inside!

Whilst lovely to 'smoke' it dorsnt half linger on clothes and furnishings. Ive had to have two showers sometimes to get rid of the stale smokiness the morning after....

I wish I could find the proper info. Have googled, but it escapes me. I will have to wait until I'm in work then I will link it properly.

Fruit ones are fine, obviously. You'll never know if she's smoking just fruit ones though. tbh, it's all pretty pointless and gets people onto smoking - never a good thing.

tobacco free fruit flavour.... i meant

I dont know a lot of people I know it worked the other way, from smoking then on to shisha then on to herbal shisha and no more smoking. A lot of people smoke shisha, so many that dont smoke, and have never smoked.

There are 169 tobacco-free varieties just on this one website :)

The herbal varieties are made from on molasses rather than tobacco, and they're growing increasingly popular in the UK since the smoking ban. If a shisha is smoked indoors (e.g. in a cafe) then it's tobacco-free... (Or the cafe will be shut down in a matter of days/weeks... So if your DD goes to a well-established one, you can be pretty sure it's OK)

Dunno about the health facts. I assume that the herbal stuff is not as bad for you as tobacco, but that it's still not very healthy to coat your lungs in a fine layer of burnt molasses

Lol- nailak, no sadly I did mean snorting vodka - was all the rage when I was younger!!

I'd be more worried about all the gobby germs they are sharing.

you get disposable pipe tips to put on,

shisha places should be using these, and also they should be sterilising pipes etc once a day using boiling water.

Rose they're teenagers, I'm sure they're spreading their gobby germs around in the traditional teenager way anyway!!

Haha Joolyjoo I knew what you meant

I second the idea of joining in enthusiastically! That should put her off the idea pretty quick.

Even nicotine free products expose the user to carbon monoxide, particles and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Please don't think it's harmless.

^^did that study include only herbal flavours or the smokeless flavours as well?

I have been into the one across the road today. It is a sandwich bar til 6 and then they bring out the beanbags and buddhas and it becomes shisha paradise. It is STEAM! I asked him no nicotine def no carbon monozide

If you read it it'll tell you what it covers

Sorry that came out sharper than I intended

It looks like it covers tobacco free products but not 'smoke free'. When you mention smokeless, do you mean electronic? Otherwise how is it heated?

lol i really couldnt be bothered to read it but i emailed it to my husband who has interest in this stuff.

He thinks it is all a ploy and that government is saying shisha is worse then tobacco because they know smokers are stopping smoking to smoke shisha and they are loosing out on money and tobacco comapnies are involved somehow...

anyway the smokeless ones produce steam instead of smoke

"BIGG Steam Stones simulates smoke but produces none. The way the BIGG steam stones work is identical to the electronic cigarettes, you inhale the evaporation or flavoured steam of a fluid. The BIGG product cannot produce smoke, making it a much cleaner healthier alternative to tobacco based Shisha flavours.

The BIGG Steam Stones are also nicotine FREE!

• The BIGG steam stones can be used around 20% longer than typical tobacco for the same quantity.
• It is better to shake the BIGG steam stones vigorously before use.
• It is preferable to use this product with a 44-charcoal heat or an electric charcoal.
• For a thick smoke-effect, the smoking column of the water pipe should not extend more than two inches under the water"

www.theshishashop.com/bigg-steam-stones-c-24_102?utm_source=site&utm_medium=smallbanner&utm_campaign=BIGGSteamstones