Hazards of ‘Shisha’
Despite of having a friends’ circle of 95% smokers, I never tried any kind of smoking, neither I promote it. Actually no one could convince me to start smoking other than “Girls get impressed” which is nothing but nonsense.
Shisha has become very common among young guys and girls who smoke it to show off that they follow modern trends. Many also smoke it because they consider it a harmless alternative of typical smoking. In Karachi, resturants like Indugle and Damascus and Indugle are popular due to their Sisha offer.
I often make posts related with human health on the basis of Information I recieve by different means. Today I recieved an email about dangerous side of Shisha Smoking. Read below and if you believe you love yourself then quit using it otherwise you are not going to harm me or someone else, you are actually being a pain in neck by suffering in different diseases.
THE use of “shisha” also known as hookah or water pipe is rapidly increasing in the major cities of Pakistan. Unfortunately most people who use shisha are not aware of its harmful effects. Most restaurant owners tell their customers that it is merely flavoured smoke and that there is no tobacco in it.
Recently, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report on the health consequences of shisha use and it has proved to be an eye-opener. A commonly held belief is that shisha is harmless because the smoke first passes through water before it is inhaled. The shisha smoker may inhale as much smoke during one session as a cigarette smoker would inhale consuming 100 or more cigarettes. Even after it has passed through water, the smoke produced by a shisha contains a high level of toxins, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and other carcinogens.
A similar hazard is posed to other people who are not directly using shisha by means of passive smoking. It is indeed sad that in spite of an ordinance in place, which bans smoking in public places many restaurants; offer shisha to their customers. Tobacco used in these water pipes is often sweetened and flavoured, making it very appealing to children and teenagers. A survey done on youngsters of school-going age in Karachi recently showed that almost 70 per cent had tried shisha in the past six months, and this included children as young as seven.
Many of the commercially available packets, which are used for shisha smoking, have misleading labels such as 0.5 per cent nicotine and zero tar. WHO in its report has strongly recommended that healthcare professionals educate the public about the potential dangers of shisha use. Moreover, the sharing of shisha between people poses an additional risk of TB, herpes, flu, meningitis and hepatitis transmission.
I would urge the ministry of health not only to ban shisha use in the restaurants but also to take other practical steps for the full implementation of the “Prohibition of smoking ordinance 2002″ in the country.
PROFESSOR JAVAID KHAN
Consultant chest physician
Aga Khan University Karachi
Images: www.desert-voice.net & www.egyptianshop.co.uk
Tagged:Shisha
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January 5th, 2007 at 11:42 am
I agree with you in the dangers of it. But you have to stop assuming that people just smoke to “follow trends”. This isn’t your high school health class anymore and not every kid smokes to “look cool”. You are making assumptions about people that you don’t know. You know bloggers aren’t the most attractive and well respected people either. Each to their own man.
January 5th, 2007 at 11:53 am
anon,people here don’t even respect Prophets and we are merely bloggers. I don’t care much about this issue.
as far as I was making assumption, my friend actually you made assumption that I am blind ignorant about certain things.
Obviously I was not saying EVERYONE smoke for “looking good”. What I said was with my personal observations of people I meet in real life and yes many smoke due to reason I mentioned.
Don’t underestimate bloggers much niehter expect much that you treat us like a god.
March 27th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
all right first of i own a hookah myself and elt me tell you i just looked up….the chances of herpies being passed through and object is very slim. It is not like the smokers are drooling on the pipe. Secondly, the hookah molasses is 0.5 percent tobacco. Companies dont lie about this….or else it is false advertisment. And molasses is not toxic. Many multi millionare companies that make molasses check it. Secondly smoking hookah from a glassed base is not toxic….but smoking from a metal base is very toxic….and will result it brain poisining. Plus anything is bad for u….even drinking orange juice is bad for u….it can result in an acid burn within the stomach wall. Plus….when was the last time you heard someone getting ill of smoking hookah?
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 pm
shisha is one of my favorite things to do.
Its really relaxing and gives you a sweet buzzz
July 26th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Smoking in any form and way is injurious to the organs which are exposed to the tobacco one ingests or inhales. The long and short term effects mainly involve the heart,lungs and vessels of the brain.
Ageing is also hastened by the effects of tobacco.
All in all the longevity of life is shortened but what matters really is that the quality of life is affected to an extent that family, friends and relationships are negatively affected.