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Last updated on 09/12/2025 | Reading time approx. 04:50 min
You love the hookah experience that a relaxed session gives you, but you keep hearing more and more often that vapes and e-cigarettes are supposed to be “better”? And recently, a third option has also popped up in the hookah world: electric hookah systems like the XKAH Pro.
Many people ask themselves: What are the real differences? What’s more harmful, what’s cheaper, what tastes better – and what works best for you in the long run?
In this article, we’ll look at classic hookah, vape/e-cigarette, and electric hookah (XKAH). By the end, you’ll have a pretty clear idea of what suits you.
Note: More information on this topic: How harmful is hookah? You can find it in our blog article on this topic.
With a traditional hookah, tobacco is heated using glowing charcoal. This produces smoke, which is filtered and cooled through water. Hookah is, above all, a ritual: setup, packing the bowl, heat management, and smoking together.
Vapes are very easy to use. They vaporize a liquid (propylene glycol/PG, vegetable glycerin/VG, flavorings, optionally nicotine) via a heating coil. This produces aerosol (vapor), not smoke. Because there is no combustion, there is no tar and practically no carbon monoxide (CO) – a key difference compared to hookah.
The XKAH Pro is an electronic bowl / e-HMD that replaces charcoal, bowl, and heat management in one system. You still use real hookah tobacco or a tobacco substitute, but the heat source is electric – meaning without charcoal. That’s exactly why the biggest problem factor of classic sessions is reduced: CO and combustion byproducts from charcoal. We also published a detailed article about this in the middle of the year: Electric Hookah – The Future of Hookah Enjoyment?
Electric hookah, hookah, and vapes: what are the differences?
| Criterion | Classic Hookah | Vape/E-Cigarette | Electric Hookah (XKAH) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat source | Charcoal (combustion) | Coil (vaporization) | Electric heating chamber |
| Smoke/vapor | Smoke | Vapor/aerosol | Vapor from tobacco/tobacco substitute |
| Carbon monoxide | High due to charcoal | Practically none | Significantly reduced |
| Main harmful substances | CO, tar, PAHs, etc. | Fewer harmful substances, no tar/CO | Less CO/PAHs than charcoal hookah |
| Nicotine | Depends on the filling: regular tobacco contains nicotine, cellulose/tobacco substitute is nicotine-free | Precisely dosable (including 0 mg) | Depends on the filling: like hookah – tobacco with nicotine, tobacco substitute nicotine-free |
| Use | Stationary, session ritual | Anywhere, spontaneous | Session ritual, but without charcoal |
| Feel/experience | Classic hookah feeling | “Vape feeling” | Very close to classic hookah |
Context:
Electric hookah is not automatically harmless, but removing charcoal clearly reduces one of the biggest drivers of harmful substances (especially CO). And if you want to completely avoid nicotine in tobacco, you can also fill an electric smoking device like the XKAH with nicotine-free tobacco – giving you a smoking experience that feels very similar to a regular hookah, but also aligns strongly with trends like vaping and leaves only a few differences.
Charcoal glows, the tobacco smolders – producing tar, carbon monoxide, and many combustion byproducts. CO is a real risk factor with hookah; there are regularly documented CO poisonings after hookah sessions, especially in poorly ventilated rooms.
Liquids are only heated and vaporized. This means the overall harmful substance load is significantly lower than with combustion – but not zero. Depending on the device, temperature, and liquid composition, irritants can form.
Here, the tobacco or tobacco substitute stays the same, but the charcoal is removed. Measurements on charcoal-free or electrically heated hookah setups show virtually no CO and significantly fewer combustion byproducts compared to charcoal setups. In short: the hookah flavor remains, while charcoal risks drop massively.
This option is likely the healthiest way to enjoy a hookah experience, but it may be less attractive for many hookah bars and for consumers who personally prefer the original hookah tradition.
Vapes or hookah – which is less harmful?
Quick health conclusion:
Classic hookah tradition (most risky) → electric hookah/XKAH (noticeably reduced) → vape (lowest harmful substance exposure in comparison, but not harmless).
Many people automatically associate hookah with nicotine – but nicotine-free alternatives have been around for a long time. These products are often sold as tobacco substitutes and are made, for example, from cellulose (cellulose fiber) or herbal bases soaked in molasses and flavorings.
In our section hookah tobacco without nicotine, we have gathered all products that you can smoke in a hookah without nicotine.
If you want the hookah mechanism, but want to reduce the risks as far as realistically possible, one of the most sensible options right now is:
XKAH (charcoal-free) + cellulose tobacco substitute (nicotine-free).
XKAH removes CO and charcoal combustion substances.
Cellulose tobacco substitute removes nicotine and tobacco tar.
This is not a medical guarantee, but a realistic best-practice combination for reducing harmful substances and addiction potential in the hookah context.
This can intensify nicotine dependence because the brain constantly receives small reward impulses. Health authorities warn especially among younger users about dependence and getting used to continuous nicotine consumption. In addition, the barrier to starting nicotine use via vapes is lower than ever before.
Both work as a clearly defined session. Setup and time investment automatically create more structure. That doesn’t mean hookah can’t be addictive – but the consumption logic is different.
The reason why disposable vapes are likely to be banned soon: vapes are electronic devices and do not belong in the trash.
Disposable vapes are a huge problem. They are sold like throwaway products, but they are e-waste (lithium battery, electronics, metals). Because they often end up in household waste, valuable raw materials are lost and there are fire risks from batteries in waste facilities. You can find out why disposable vapes are likely to be completely banned soon in our blog article: Vapes Banned in Germany: The current status, consequences & the best alternatives for smokers
That’s why our clear recommendation is:
Rechargeable, refillable devices are the far more sensible choice here.
Even though tobacco does not burn to the same extent in a hookah as it does in cigarettes, the direct comparison is generally: classic hookah is the most burdensome, mainly because of the charcoal (CO and combustion byproducts). Vapes are on average lower in harmful substances because nothing burns and the liquid is only vaporized. Electric hookahs like the XKAH sit in between: the tobacco remains, but the charcoal is removed – which significantly lowers CO exposure in particular. None of the options is risk-free, but the main drivers of harmful substances differ.
Very close. Because you use real hookah tobacco or a tobacco substitute, the aroma stays largely intact and the typical session feel remains. The biggest difference is the more consistent heat without charcoal management – which often makes results even more reproducible.
CO is produced by burning charcoal. In closed or poorly ventilated rooms, it can build up quickly. That’s why there are repeatedly documented CO poisonings after hookah sessions. Electric systems greatly reduce this risk because there is no glowing charcoal.
If you’re looking for something spontaneous in between, yes. Vapes deliver flavor and vapor quickly without any setup. What makes them less “hookah-like”: the session ritual is missing – which makes overconsumption easier, especially with nicotine.
Most similar are devices with an open draw (DL/sub-ohm). They produce a lot of vapor and feel more “cloud-heavy” than classic beginner devices. If you want something more relaxed and casual, pod systems are a compact alternative – but in terms of feel, they’re noticeably further away from a hookah session.
Yes, but: “e-hookah” is essentially just a marketing term for an e-cigarette or vape, often for larger, more powerful models that produce more vapor. Alongside classic e-hookahs, there are also disposable e-cigarettes and pod systems marketed as innovative, portable alternatives.
However, there are also electronic hookahs, which some people also call e-hookahs. These electronic hookahs are water pipes that heat hookah tobacco using electricity, meaning they function much more like a real hookah with water cooling and have nothing to do with vapes (e-hookahs) in the e-cigarette sense.
Yes. With vapes, it’s easy via 0 mg liquids. With hookah and XKAH, you can use nicotine-free cellulose tobacco substitute instead of tobacco. That removes nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tobacco tar, while the XKAH still keeps the typical hookah setup.
If you smoke hookah regularly, the investment can be worth it: the upfront cost is higher than with a normal HMD, but you save on charcoal long-term. Over time, the costs are often somewhere between classic hookah and vaping – with the advantage that the session experience stays intact and you consume significantly less carbon monoxide.
Yes – with limitations. Hookah is usually smoked socially and not continuously. If you smoke hookah very frequently and want to move away from it, a vape can be a practical alternative, especially if you gradually reduce the nicotine level.
Studies on smoking cessation show that e-cigarettes can help cigarette smokers quit. However, these findings do not directly apply to hookah users. At the same time, because vapes are available anytime, everyday use can more easily lead to more frequent consumption and stronger habituation than with a clearly limited hookah session.
If you only enjoy hookah occasionally as a ritual with friends, vaping is therefore not automatically the better alternative. In that case, it’s often more sensible to gradually switch to nicotine-free alternatives like Hookahsqueeze or Smoke Island – and, if the investment makes sense for you, consider an electric system like the XKAH.
This way, the social session feeling remains, while carbon monoxide and other combustion substances are significantly reduced and the addiction potential overall is lower. In general, though: any use is worse than no use.
Since 2025, it’s no longer just “hookah vs. vape,” but a three-way comparison:
If you want to enjoy hookah with as low a harmful-substance and addiction profile as possible, one realistic best-practice combo is:
XKAH (charcoal-free) + cellulose tobacco substitute (nicotine-free, no tobacco tar) – with real hookah feeling, but significantly reduced downsides. That said, for long-time smokers it may feel less appealing because the nicotine kick is missing.
