Invited Review introduCtion
Origin and nomenclatureThere has been a considerable controversy regarding the origin of water pipe smoking. While some believe its origin can be traced back to ancient India when it was invented by a physician Hakim Abul Fath during the reign of Emperor Akbar as a less harmful method of tobacco use, others suggest that it was first used in South Africa, Persia, Ethiopia, and other countries. The latter belief was supported by the fact that more ancient traces of water pipe smokes were found in Southern or Eastern Africa. [1][2][3] Regardless of its origin, trade routes seem to have helped disseminate the practice throughout parts of Asia and the Middle East. [4] Water pipe smoking has been recognized in different countries by different names. [5] Many of these names are of Indian, Turkish, Uzbek, Persian, or Arab origin. "Narghile" (a name commonly used in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Greece, and Palestine) is derived from the Persian word nārgil or "coconut." "Shisha" is from the Persian word shishe or "glass." "Hashishe" is also an Arabic word for grass, which may have been another way of saying tobacco. Hookah is an Arabic name, meaning a small box, pot, or jar. Both names refer to the original methods of constructing the smoke/ water chamber part of the hookah. "Shisha" is the name that is more commonly used in Egypt. In Iran, it is called ghalyoun or ghalyan and in Pakistan it is referred to as huqqa. [5]