Life without the shisha

Rasha Abu Baker at CNN:

StoryshishaImagine denying a Brit a pint or banning a Swede from a sauna.

Hard to contemplate. Yet many Middle Easterners in England are trying to come to terms with a new reality — life without the shisha.

The shisha, also known as a hookah, is a stand-up water pipe device often used to smoke flavored tobacco. It is one of the most favorite pastimes of Middle Easterners.

But it will all go up in smoke when a public ban on smoking comes into effect in June 2007.

Although people would still be able to enjoy the ancient habit at home, many feel it will never be the same.

More here.