I don’t smoke and I can count the number of smokers in my social circle in the UK on one hand. The reverse is true in India: I can count the number of NON-smoking friends on one hand, I probably wouldn’t even need the hand to count. Almost everyone I know in Delhi smokes and they are shocked every time I refuse a fag like they are trying to test me and most of them call me a good girl – are they calling me a geek?
One of my acquaintances in Delhi (not a friend) is so uncomfortable with the fact I don’t smoke that she introduces me as ‘This is my friend, she doesn’t smoke but she does smoke shisha’ at which point I always correct her and say that I hardly ever smoke shisha, perhaps once every two years thereby increasing her discomfort. This person even lets her 6 year old niece have a few puffs of her cigarette at the kid’s request! It’s hardly the same as being soft and letting her eat ice cream before dinner.
Well, there was a new report out today saying smoking shisha is like having 200 cigarettes and while others are disputing the claim, I think it’s safe to know that just because it tastes like apple or peach it’s not better than cigarettes and it is certainly harmful. I am way too vain for that kind of age accelerant so shisha is off completely for me now.
Bubbly (not from a shisha pipe!)
The Chatterjis Blog 