Haridwar, September 11 (TNA) Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has sparked a fresh debate on social media after a video of him demonstrating an “Ayurvedic hookah” made from herbs and household ingredients went viral, with claims that inhaling its smoke can help clear a blocked nose and relieve a cough.
In the clip, Ramdev is seen preparing a herbal mixture for a traditional brass hookah, using ingredients such as mulethi (liquorice), haldi (turmeric), rai (mustard seeds), ghee, kakarsingi and desi kapoor (camphor). He says the smoke, when inhaled through the hookah, can help balance vata, pitta and kapha and provide relief from respiratory complaints like cough and nasal congestion.
The video has drawn mixed reactions online, with some users calling it an “ancient remedy” and others questioning the safety and logic of inhaling smoke for health benefits. Several posts on X and Instagram have labelled the claim “unscientific”, with one user writing that it is “more toxic than smoking a cigarette”.
Medical experts and fact-checkers have cautioned that there is currently no strong clinical evidence to support inhaling smoke or vapour from such preparations as a safe or effective treatment for cough, congestion or other illnesses. They warn that smoke inhalation can irritate the airways and may worsen respiratory conditions, especially in children, the elderly and people with asthma or chronic lung disease.
The viral clip comes as a Haridwar-based Ayurvedic college separately promotes a nicotine-free “herbal cigarette” using 15 Ayurvedic herbs as a smoking-cessation aid, though researchers there say data is still being collected and no conclusions can be drawn yet. Ramdev’s hookah demonstration is a separate, traditional-style practice and not part of that research.