Shisha a specially prepared tobacco is heated to produce smoke which bubbles through a bowl of water and into a long hose-like pipe to be breathed in, and has become the norm for most individuals especially when it comes to the youth of the nation. It has now become a necessity to smoke Shisha at every event hosted especially when the event is about youth, there will be a shisha to be smoked by the youth present.
Most people are ignorant about the effects of it and give a mediocre excuse that smoking shisha is better than smoking Cigarettes or Weed. But it’s surprising how smoking shisha gradually affects our health and it is even more dangerous because most of these youth are ignorant about the effect of shisha on their health. Surprisingly, the rate at which Females smoke shisha is higher than that of males.
According to the African Tobacco Control Alliance a search that was conducted among Junior High School and Senior high school students, about 34% of females smoke shisha. This is just among JHS and SHS students, those in tertiary have not been included yet. Imagine what the percentage would be if a search is conducted for all females and males included, this should also tell the level of risk the youth will be facing in the days to come.
However, this article aims to explore some of the health issues associated with smoking Shisha and to caution those involved in smoking shisha to abstain from doing so.
Health Issues Associated With Smoking Shisha.
1. Cancer.
Compared to cigarette smokers, shisha users appear to inhale more harmful smoke on average. This can be partly attributed to differences in the puffing frequency and inhalation depth between shisha and cigarette smoking practices. A shisha session usually lasts about an hour, during which the user may breathe in smoke up to 200 times that of a cigarette.
Furthermore, although the water in a shisha pipe functions as a filter, it is ineffective at eliminating high concentrations of harmful substances including carcinogens, heavy metals, and carbon monoxide that are found in the smoke shisha creates.
2. Cardiovascular Diseases.
Shisha smoke contains toxins that enter the bloodstream and cause atherosclerosis, which narrows and hardens arteries. Smoke also damages the artery lining, which causes an atheroma, or fatty deposit, to build up and constrict the artery. Numerous cardiovascular problems, including angina, congestive heart failure, a heart attack, or a stroke, can be brought on by these alterations.
Nicotine addiction is not surprising because smoking shisha gives users nearly the same amount of nicotine as smoking cigarettes. Additionally, nicotine increases the creation of adrenaline, which raises blood pressure, strains the heart, and increases the chance of a heart attack or stroke.
Shisha is burned with wood cinders or charcoal, unlike cigarettes, which expose users to extremely high doses of carbon monoxide gas. The amount of carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke lowers the blood’s ability to carry oxygen, requiring the user’s heart to beat more vigorously to provide the body enough oxygen.
3. Infectious Diseases
Furthermore, there are dangers connected to the social practices around shisha smoking. The device is typically smoked in specialty bars, and because of poor cleaning, the mouthpiece may not be hygienic to use. As a result, using it puts people at risk of contracting fungal infections like Aspergillus, which affects the lungs, bacterial infections like tuberculosis, viral infections like herpes and hepatitis, and helicobacter infections, which cause stomach ulcers.
Because consumers aren’t always aware of the risks involved in smoking shisha, research conducted by the World Health Organization has recommended actions meant to increase knowledge and, in turn, reduce shisha usage. Among them are:
- Educating the public and health professionals, among other interested parties, about the dangers of smoking shisha for both individual users and secondhand smoke exposure.
- Ensuring that flavored tobacco items related to shish kabobs and other comparable goods are subject to the same rules as cigarettes and other tobacco products.
- Putting the necessary health warnings on the labels of shisha goods and outlawing any that give false impressions of their safety.
- Prohibiting the use of shisha in areas where it is now illegal to smoke cigarettes or other tobacco products.
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