RELEASING a long swirl of smoke into the air, 23-year-old Haslina Ismail stopped to sip some tea before she continued to take another long puff of her lemon-mint Shisha.
Clearly she was relaxed while doing this as she joked with her friends with whom she was sharing her Shisha pipe. A cloud of sweet-smelling smoke hovered above them.
“I smoke Shisha almost daily and normally I share it with my friends. It is like having a dessert after a meal because it is pleasantly flavoured and there are many flavours to choose from,” said Haslina, who was introduced to Shisha smoking two year ago.
Her friend Fairuz Zabidi, 21, claimed that it was not addictive like cigarettes and first started smoking it while in the secondary school.
“I don't know about the legal age to smoke Shisha, but it was rather easy to buy it from the shops as I was rarely questioned about my age when I used to purchase this when I was under 18,” said Fairuz.
For Looi Mei Lin, 27, her Middle-East boyfriend introduced Shisha to her.
“It is a way of socialising for the middle-easterners,” said Looi, who has also learnt the art of preparing Shisha from her boyfriend Bharam Kashan, 35.
Kashan said the charcoals must be properly aired and burned to enjoy a good Shisha.
“Otherwise it could give you a headache,” added Kashan who came to Malaysia 13 years ago.
Feroz Khan, 22, smokes Shisha as an alternative to cigarettes and spends about RM150 on it every month.
“It's my way of chilling out,” he said, adding that grape was his favourite flavour.
Meanwhile, 26-year-old Mohd Asjad Hassan or better known as Max has been selling Shisha since 1999.
He learnt its preparation while working in an Arabic restaurant in Kuala Lumpur before setting up his own stall at various locations over the years including in Sri Hartamas and Bangsar.
Currently, Max's stall is located at Suzy's Corner near Jalan Hulu Klang, Kuala Lumpur. His stall opens from 9pm till 5am.
He said the smoking trend picked up about three to four years ago especially among young people who liked chilling out with their peers.
“People like Shisha because it comes in flavours and is safer than cigarettes. The smoke is filtered through water and the flavour-infused tobacco is also mixed with honey which has many healthy properties.
“Some of my customers who has sinus problems, including my sister, find relief after smoking Shisha,” he said.
He claimed that smoking three to four times a week without inhaling the smoke would do no harm to one's health.
Max added that it was also important to constantly clean the ‘hookah’ especially the smoke pipe for the sake of hygiene.
Playing his part as a responsible citizen, Max only sells Shisha to customers above 18.
By JAYAGANDI JAYARAJ
The Star
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