The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has told the Nigerian Police Force to enforce the ban on shisha smoking in public places in the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday to mark the 2018 world No- Tobacco Day, he said, “Let me stress that the ban on tobacco products with characterising flavours is still in place and the ban includes shisha because it has flavour. I, therefore, urge the Consumer Protection Council and the law enforcement agencies to intensify arrest of defaulters.” The Director-General of the CPC, Babatunde Irukera, said a committee had been set up to look into the issue of Shisha and other matters and further recommendations would be made soon.
This is coming after calls by The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) on the Federal Government to emulate nations that have banned the importation and smoking of water-pipe tobacco also known as shisha, due to its addictiveness and deadly effect on the health of users.
Speaking to Daily Trust, the ERA/FoEN Deputy Executive Director Akinbode Oluwafemi pointed to the fact that Port Harcourt and other cities across the country now have thriving shisha bars patronized by the elite, celebrities and supposed role models who not only smoke the product, but also circulate pictures and videos of their shisha orgies on social media.
According to an article published earlier by www.atqnews.com, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are the only African countries that have banned shisha smoking which is reported to be more harmful than cigarettes. The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says it is also planning with the country’s Ministry of Health to ban shisha smoking this year. Ghana banned smoking in public places in 2012 following the passage of its Public Health Bill. Rwanda is the first African country to ban shisha smoking in 2017.
The East African country banned its use, advertisement and importation. The WHO stated in a 2015 advisory note that the effect of shisha tobacco on the body is more harmful than cigarettes. “All the studies to date indicate that, during a typical waterpipe use session, the user will draw large doses of toxicants (ranging from less than one to tens of cigarette equivalents). These toxicants have been linked to addiction, heart and lung diseases, and cancer in cigarette smokers and can result in similar outcomes in waterpipe users if these toxicants are absorbed in the body in appreciable amounts,” the reported stated.
Shisha smoking has become increasingly popular among young people in Africa. It goes by several names including hookah tobacco, maassel, narghile and argileh and comes in several flavours including fruity, minty, rich and creamy. The highly toxic tobacco substance is smoked using a hookah (waterpipe). The smoke exposes the user to the addictive chemical nicotine as well as tar, carbon monoxide and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead.
