Shisha Smoking In Public
Shisha or hookah smoking involves inhalation of smoke from flavoured tobaccos coursed through a water pipe and has been offered up for sale in various public establishments for young and old alike.
There is a growing concern among people that this trend of displaying shisha tends to attract young people such as students and young professionals to buy and try out smoking shisha themselves. The attraction of how some shisha are concocted from herbal mixtures of crude tobacco mixed with various fruits and molasses and fermented to product a sweet and fruity aroma of the hookah smoke.
Some public places such as cafes and restaurants tolerate shisha smoking but concerned citizens particularly elders and senior citizens have expressed request to ban such activities.
Perhaps, these actions might not be enough to prevent the ever-growing users of the hookah to stop; in the first place, they should have been prevented. Letting first-time hookah smokers savour the excitement of first-time shisha smoking are not helping in the long run. It is like having ripe fruit dangling on a low-hanging branch – so easy to reach.
The difficulty in starting is finding the power to stop from this unhealthy habit. Shisha smoking brings about herpes, mouth and lung cancers among others. In fact, just an hour of smoking the hookah pipe is already equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). There must be widespread awareness to these young people about the adverse effects of smoking. It is not just saying it is herbal and therefore it is safe; the long-term impact of smoking leaves your body in a state susceptible to unhealthy complications and diseases.
Let us help out the youth of today to totally avoid this unhealthy habit of shisha smoking by preventing the lure of the hookah smoking in public places.
Image by Andres Rodriguez (flickr)
One Reply to “Shisha Smoking In Public”
The heir to cigarette smoking, shisha smoking is becoming more and more popular in society nowadays. This increasing habit of shisha smoking is emerging as a fashion statement in both boys and girls. A general misconception is that, unlike cigarette smoking, hookah or shisha smoking is safe for the health. The ever increasing trend of shisha smoking is bringing the new generation to destruction and is playing an important role in pulling down the future of upcoming youth. According to a survey by the world health organization it is estimated that 36 percent of young boys and nine percent of young girls are a part of the 25 million people who smoke shisha in Pakistan. Basically, shisha or Hookah is a water pipe with a hose and smoke chamber. The specially-made tobacco, or “flavored tobacco” is not less toxic than cigarette tobacco. In fact, it has been proven through research that one hour of smoking shisha is equal to the smoke inhaled by smoking 100-200 cigarettes. So in that sense, shisha is far more harmful to your health.