Shisha vs. Hookah — What's the Difference?

Contains ingredients like molasses and glycerin for moisture.

A water pipe for smoking shisha and other substances.

Available in various flavors to suit different tastes.

Used historically in Middle Eastern cultures.

Flavored tobacco mixture used in hookah smoking.

Can be a social activity or solo enjoyment.

Requires proper storage to maintain quality.

Often ornately decorated and considered an art piece.

Usually smoked in groups for relaxation.

Consists of a bowl, hose, and water chamber.

(in Egypt and other Arabic-speaking countries) a hookah.

A hookah (Hindustani: حقّہ (Nastaleeq), हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari), IPA: [ˈɦʊqːa]; also see other names), or shisha, is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco (often Mu‘assel), or sometimes cannabis, hashish, and in the past opium. The smoke is passed through a water basin—often glass-based—before inhalation.The health risks of smoking through a hookah include exposure to toxic chemicals that are not filtered out by the water and risk of infectious disease when hookahs are shared.The hookah or waterpipe was invented by Abu’l-Fath Gilani, a Persian physician of Akbar, in the Indian city of Fatehpur Sikri during Mughal India; the hookah spread from the Indian subcontinent to Persia first, where the mechanism was modified to its current shape, and then to the Near East.

See hookah.

An oriental tobacco pipe with a long, flexible tube which draws the smoke through water contained in a bowl.

Flavored tobacco smoked in a hookah, usually mixed with molasses or honey and often fruit pulp or dried fruits.

A pipe traditionally used for smoking flavored tobacco in which tobacco is placed in a bowl and heated with burning charcoal, producing smoke that is drawn through an urn of water that cools it and then into a long tube with an attached mouthpiece. In some modern versions, the charcoal-heated bowl is replaced with a battery-powered vaporizer containing a liquid mixture similar to that used in an e-cigarette. Also called hubble-bubble, narghile, shisha.

The South Asian handicraft of embroidering fabric with small mirrors.

An e-cigarette or a vaporizer pen. Also called hookah pen.

(countable) An Arabic water-pipe, or hookah.

(recreational inhalants) Smoking A pipe with a long flexible tube that draws the smoke through water, traditionally used for smoking tobacco, which is often flavored.

The tobacco smoked in such a pipe, especially as mixed with molasses and flavour extract.

(diving) A tank-less surface air compressor pump and umbilical piping system that supplies air to a diving mask

(textiles) A type of embroidery with small pieces of reflective metal attached to the fabric.

A pipe with a long, flexible stem, so arranged that the smoke is cooled by being made to pass through water. Also called narghile and water pipe. The hubble-bubble is a simple form of this device.

An oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water;

An oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water;

A hookah works by passing smoke from burning tobacco through water, cooling it before inhalation.

A hookah should be cleaned after each use to prevent residue buildup and maintain hygiene.

A typical hookah session can last from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the amount of shisha and the number of users.

Shisha is made of tobacco mixed with molasses, glycerin, and flavorings.

Common shisha flavors include apple, mint, cherry, and watermelon.

While possible, smoking cannabis in a hookah is not recommended as it can damage the equipment and alter the flavor.

Yes, electric hookahs or e-hookahs use electric heating elements instead of charcoal.

Yes, there are herbal shisha varieties that do not contain tobacco.

Smoking hookah is not safer than cigarettes; both involve inhaling smoke and carry health risks.

Shisha is the substance smoked, while hookah coals are used to heat the shisha in the hookah.

Shisha flavor is created by adding various flavorings and sweeteners to the tobacco mixture.