How much nicotine is in hookah?
Flavored shisha, a hookah session, and every e-hookah on the US market, measured on the same page. Public-health figures are cited to CDC, FDA, WHO and peer-reviewed studies; device figures come from makers, named retailers and our own catalog.
Flavored hookah tobacco has tested at an average of 3.35 mg of nicotine per gram, about 0.34% by weight (range 0.18–0.63%), so a 20 g bowl holds around 67 mg; one hookah session delivers roughly 4.1 mg of inhaled nicotine against 1.8 mg for one cigarette. Those figures come from a review of lab data in Neergaard et al., Nicotine & Tobacco Research (2007) and a 17-study meta-analysis by Primack et al., Public Health Reports (2016). Packaging often says 0.05%, but a 2026 lab test found 12 of 15 flavors labelled 0.05% measured higher, from 0.05% to 0.13%. On the e-hookah side, fixed strengths on the US market run from 0.35% to 5% of the e-liquid; the tables below put both side by side.
Nicotine in shisha tobacco
What the lab tests found
- Flavored shisha (maassel): average 3.35 mg/g across 11 tested brands, range 1.8–6.3 mg/g, "equivalent to 67 mg for one run" with a 20 g bowl (Neergaard et al., Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2007).
- Unflavored waterpipe tobacco is far stronger: 30–41 mg/g in the same review, and WHO's Eastern Mediterranean office puts one bowl of it at "the nicotine equivalent of 2–12 cigarettes" (2014).
- Labels understate it: of 15 US and UK flavors sold as 0.05% nicotine, 12 measured higher, between 0.05% and 0.13% of tobacco weight (Rezk-Hanna, Ben Taleb & Benowitz, Tobacco Control, 2026).
What shisha brands print on the box
Only a handful of brands publish a figure. Where a major US hookah retailer or the maker states one, it is below; the rest publish nothing, and the lab result above is a reminder that printed figures are a floor rather than a measurement.
| Shisha brand | Leaf | Printed nicotine | Where that figure is stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al Fakher | Blonde (Virginia) leaf | 0.05% | Icon Hookah collection page |
| Starbuzz | French Virginia leaf | 0.05% | hookah.com brand page |
| Fumari | Washed Virginia blonde leaf | 0.05% by weight | hookah.com brand page |
| Adalya | Blonde leaf | — | Not published |
| Tangiers | Dark leaf | 0.4% by weight (Noir line) | hookah.com brand page, which contrasts it with a "typical 0.05 percent" |
| Nakhla | Retailer pages differ (blonde-leaf listings; "unwashed tobacco" on Two Apples) | — | Not published |
| Afzal | Blonde leaf cut, made with honey | — | Not published |
| Darkside | Dark leaf (unwashed Burley) | — | Described as a heavier nicotine profile; no figure published |
| Social Smoke | Natural (unwashed) leaf | — | Not published |
| Trifecta | Two lines: Blonde Leaf and Dark Blend | About 0.05% by weight (Blonde line); Dark Blend higher, no figure | hookah.com brand page |
| Azure | Gold Line blonde leaf; Black Line dark leaf | — | Not published |
| Zomo | Virginia blonde leaf; Strong line dark leaf | — | Not published |
| Haze | Blonde Virginia leaf | 0.05% | hookah.com brand page |
| Al Waha | French leaf soaked in honey, medium cut | — | Not published |
| Musthave | Dark leaf (air-cured Burley) | — | Not published |
Dark-leaf tobaccos (Tangiers, Darkside, Musthave) are the stronger end: Tangiers' Noir line is stated at 0.4% by weight, eight times the "typical" 0.05% of blonde-leaf brands. More on each brand in shisha tobacco brands compared.
Nicotine per hookah session
A bowl's content is not what reaches you. What matters is how much you inhale over a session, and hookah sessions are long. WHO's tobacco regulation group described sessions that "typically last 20–80 minutes, during which the smoker may take 50–200 puffs," against 8–12 puffs for a cigarette (2005). CDC puts a typical one-hour session at about 90,000 mL of smoke, against 500–600 mL for one cigarette.
| Measure | One hookah session | One cigarette | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicotine inhaled (pooled estimate) | 4.1 mg | 1.8 mg | Primack et al., Public Health Reports (2016) |
| Smoke inhaled | 74.1 L | 0.6 L | Primack et al., Public Health Reports (2016) |
| Peak blood nicotine (lab crossover, n=31) | 10.2 ng/mL | 10.6 ng/mL | Eissenberg & Shihadeh, American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2009) |
| Session length (lab crossover, n=54) | 43.3 min | 6.1 min | Cobb et al., Nicotine & Tobacco Research (2011) |
| Nicotine and CO vs one cigarette | "nearly 9 times more carbon monoxide and 1.7 times more nicotine" | CDC (2024) | |
Does the water filter out nicotine? Very little. A review of the lab work found "less than 5% of the nicotine content of the waterpipe tobacco is trapped in the water," and CDC states plainly that "the water in a hookah does not filter smoke."
Nicotine in every e-hookah and hookah pen
E-liquid strength is printed as a percentage of volume, and the conversion is fixed: divide mg/mL by 10 to get percent, so 5 mg/mL is 0.5% and 50 mg/mL is 5% (Morean et al., Addictive Behaviors, 2021). Multiply by the e-liquid volume and you get the nicotine sealed in the whole device. The table covers every device in our e-hookah brands compared survey that publishes a single strength, sorted from mildest to strongest; 34 also publish a tank size, so the total can be worked out.
| Device | Format | Strength | mg/mL | E-liquid | Nicotine in the device |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olit Shishalit 30K | Sealed disposable | 0.35% | 3.5 | 25 mL | 88 mg |
| Olit Hookalit S 35000 | Sealed disposable | 0.35% | 3.5 | 30 mL | 105 mg |
| Olit Hookalit 40K · stocked | Sealed disposable | 0.35% | 3.5 | 40 mL | 140 mg |
| Olit Hookalit Plus 100K | Sealed disposable | 0.35% | 3.5 | 40 mL | 140 mg |
| Olit Hookalit Pro 60K · stocked | Sealed disposable | 0.35% | 3.5 | 60 mL | 210 mg |
| Olit Hookalit Mega 200K · stocked | Refillable e-hookah head | 0.35% | 3.5 | 80 mL | 280 mg per full tank |
| Olit Hookalit Mega 150K | Disposable hookah head | 0.35% | 3.5 | 80 mL | 280 mg |
| Vozol Gear Shisha 40000 | Sealed disposable | 0.5% | 5 | — | — |
| Heybar Crystal 25K E-Hookah Head | Disposable hookah head + standalone | 0.5% | 5 | — | — |
| Heybar Gold 50K | Disposable hookah head + standalone | 0.5% | 5 | — | — |
| Ploox XS 25K | Sealed disposable | 0.5% | 5 | 18 mL | 90 mg |
| Ploox Mini Hookah 25K Kit | Portable water hookah kit (with disposable) | 0.5% | 5 | 18 mL | 90 mg |
| EVO Hookah To Go | Replaceable-pod kit | 0.5% | 5 | 20 mL | 100 mg |
| PeakBar H2O 40K | Disposable with reusable water pipe | 0.5% | 5 | 20 mL | 100 mg |
| Geek Bar Burj 80K · stocked | Sealed disposable | 0.5% | 5 | 25 mL | 125 mg |
| HOPO Prism 50K Hookah | Sealed disposable | 0.5% | 5 | 25 mL | 125 mg |
| MFU Shisha X5 70K Hookah Kit | Replaceable-pod kit | 0.5% | 5 | 36 mL | 180 mg |
| Ploox (Luxpodz) Molasses 75K | Sealed disposable | 0.5% | 5 | 40 mL | 200 mg |
| Kori Hookah Head 120K | Disposable hookah head | 0.5% | 5 | 60 mL | 300 mg |
| Al Fakher Crown Bar Cloud Force Max 50K | Disposable hookah head | 0.5% | 5 | 60 mL | 300 mg |
| Elfworld Big-B 99999 | Disposable hookah head | 0.5% | 5 | 80 mL | 400 mg |
| Keystone Cyber Shisha 30K | Sealed disposable | 0.6% | 6 | — | — |
| Geek Bar Hookah X 25K | Sealed disposable | 0.6% | 6 | 18 mL | 108 mg |
| Urban Tale × Lost Mary E-Hookah 26K | Sealed disposable | 0.6% | 6 | 20 mL | 120 mg |
| JNR ShishaSip 35K | Replaceable-pod kit | 0.6% | 6 | 20 mL | 120 mg |
| Starbuzz E-Hose 50K | Disposable e-hose | 0.6% | 6 | 40 mL | 240 mg |
| Al Fakher Crown Bar 60K E-Hose X | Disposable e-hose | 0.6% | 6 | 50 mL | 300 mg |
| Mazaya E-Hookah 80K | Sealed disposable | 0.6% | 6 | 50 mL | 300 mg |
| Fume Hookah 20K | Sealed disposable | 2% | 20 | 19 mL | 380 mg |
| Al Fakher Crown Bar Sound 12K | Small disposable hookah pen | 2% | 20 | 22 mL | 440 mg |
| JNR Mega Shisha 100K | Disposable; attaches to a desktop hookah | 2% | 20 | 60 mL | 1,200 mg |
| JNR Crown Shisha 100K | Sealed disposable | 3% | 30 | 58 mL | 1,740 mg |
| Al Fakher Crown Bar Ultra 25K · stocked | Sealed disposable | 5% | 50 | — | — |
| HQD Shisha Solo 50K | Sealed disposable | 5% 5% per listing (same page also says 5 mg/mL) | 50 | 20 mL | 1,000 mg |
| HOPO Hookah DTL 50000 | Sealed disposable | 5% | 50 | 25 mL | 1,250 mg |
| HQD SiSA 80K Hookah | Sealed disposable | 5% | 50 | 28 mL | 1,400 mg |
| Kori Hookah Head 100K | Disposable hookah head (also standalone) | 5% 5% per retailer listing; not on maker page | 50 | 30 mL | 1,500 mg |
| Smookah E-Hookah Head 100K (2-in-1) | Disposable hookah head | 5% | 50 | 40 mL | 2,000 mg |
| MFU Shisha X2 Hookah 60K | Sealed disposable | 5% | 50 | 60 mL | 3,000 mg |
Not in the table because no single strength is published: Bang QQ Shisha 200K, Air Bar Stick Hookah Edition, Aspire Proteus Neo, Square E-Head, OOKA OOKA / OOKA Pro, Ensō Ensō (2026 edition), Kado Bar Hookah 40K, MFU Shisha X3 Hookah 150K, Kori Hola E-Hookah Head 40K, Phantom E-Hookah Head 30K, Ploox Me X 15000, XKAH Pro. Refillable heads run whatever strength you pour in, and the electric hookahs heat shisha rather than e-liquid.
Comparing a bowl with an e-hookah, honestly
The two percentages are not the same measure. Shisha nicotine is a share of the tobacco's weight, and most of it never leaves the bowl; e-liquid nicotine is a share of the liquid's volume, and the liquid is used up as you draw. The fair comparisons are these:
- What is in the product. A 20 g bowl of flavored shisha at the tested average holds about 67 mg. The Olit Hookalit 40K holds 140 mg in its 40 mL, but that is spread over a rated 25,000 DTL puffs, or about 125 sessions of 200 puffs.
- What reaches you. This is the number that matters, and it is not small for either. In a randomized crossover at UCLA, plasma nicotine rose by a comparable amount after a 30-minute e-hookah session and a 30-minute hookah session (Rezk-Hanna et al., CHEST, 2022). A long, loose hookah-style draw moves a lot of vapor, so strength still adds up.
- What to take from it. Strength is the one setting you choose when you buy a sealed device. The low end of the table (0.35–0.6%) is where most hookah-positioned devices sit; 2–5% devices carry disposable-vape strengths in a hookah body. The three brands we stock sit at both ends, compared in Olit Hookalit vs Crown Bar vs Geek Bar Burj.
Zero-nicotine options
In e-hookahs, a 0% version is sold for the Bang QQ Shisha and the Ploox Me X 15000, and any refillable head can run 0% e-liquid. In shisha, "herbal" or tobacco-free molasses removes nicotine but not the smoke: a double-blind study found its smoke "contained substantial quantities of toxicants" and that nicotine "was the only outcome that differed significantly" from tobacco shisha (Shihadeh et al., Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2012).
How US rules treat hookah and hookah pens
FDA lists "hookah pens" among the names for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), and its deeming rule, effective August 8, 2016, brought ENDS and hookah tobacco under its authority. Since December 20, 2019 the federal minimum age for any tobacco product, hookah tobacco and e-cigarettes included, is 21. Every nicotine device we sell is for adults 21+, and none is a smoking-cessation product.
Hookah nicotine FAQ
How much nicotine is in flavored hookah?
How much nicotine is in one hookah session compared with a cigarette?
How much nicotine is in a hookah vape?
Does the water in a hookah filter out nicotine?
Is 0.05% nicotine in hookah a lot?
Is there a hookah with no nicotine?
What does 0.35% nicotine mean on an e-hookah?
Sources
- Neergaard et al., Nicotine & Tobacco Research (2007). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3276363/
- Rezk-Hanna, Ben Taleb & Benowitz, Tobacco Control (2026). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39798996/
- WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (2014). applications.emro.who.int/docs/Fact_Sheet_TFI_2014_EN_15317.pdf
- Primack et al., Public Health Reports (2016). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4716475/
- Primack et al., Public Health Reports (2016). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26843673/
- Eissenberg & Shihadeh, American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2009). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19944918/
- Cobb et al., Nicotine & Tobacco Research (2011). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21127030/
- CDC (2024). www.cdc.gov/tobacco/other-tobacco-products/hookahs.html
- WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (2005). www.who.int/publications/i/item/advisory-note-waterpipe-tobacco-smokin…
- CDC (2024). www.cdc.gov/tobacco/other-tobacco-products/hookahs.html
- Neergaard et al., Nicotine & Tobacco Research (2007). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3276363/
- CDC (2024). www.cdc.gov/tobacco/other-tobacco-products/hookahs.html
- Morean et al., Addictive Behaviors (2021). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8188544/
- Rezk-Hanna et al., CHEST (2022). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34298007/
- Shihadeh et al., Food and Chemical Toxicology (2012). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22406330/
- FDA (2026). www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/products-ingredients-components/e-cigaret…
- FDA (2024). www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/rules-regulations-and-guidance-related-to…
- FDA (2025). www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/retail-sales-tobacco-products/tobacco-21