Heat: from glowing coal to electricity

1Coal directly on the tobacco

In the old ajami way, the coal sits directly on the soaked tobacco, with nothing in between.¹²

2Foil and mu'assel

Moist mu'assel needs gentler heat. So the bowl is usually covered with perforated foil and the coal placed on top. A 2015 patent application describes exactly this common method and proposes a bowl with a rim that holds the foil.³¹²

3Quick-light and natural coal

Quick-light charcoal is coated with substances such as nitrates and sulphur so that it lights faster. Vanderbilt University's poison centre warns that the health effects of inhaling that smoke are unknown.⁴

A 2015 study followed a single piece of charcoal for 90 minutes. Quick-light averaged about 3,700 ppm of carbon monoxide, natural about 1,700 ppm. The natural coal burned hotter: about 292 °C against 247 °C.⁵

4The heat management device

Kaloud's patent US 9,237,770 describes a plate that rests on the bowl and conducts the coal's heat to the tobacco, with a lid to regulate it. The coal no longer touches the tobacco or any foil.⁶

5Electricity instead of coal

In 2019 the American University of Beirut compared charcoal with three electric heaters. Electricity cut carbon monoxide by about 90% and PAHs by about 80%, but acrolein, a lung irritant, rose several-fold.⁷

The authors conclude that marketing electric heaters as less harmful may be misleading. In 2023 the journal Tobacco Control described the rise of electric heating elements as a new generation of hookahs.⁷⁸

6Carbon monoxide in the lounge

Burning coal produces carbon monoxide. After poisonings in shisha bars, Baden-Württemberg requires venues to have proper ventilation and CO detectors.⁹¹⁰

Water cools the smoke but does not clean it: even after the water, the smoke contains high levels of toxic substances.¹¹