Sheesha or hookah smoking

By Ms. Madiha Khalid, Islamabad

Hookah is a water pipe used to smoke tobacco through cold water. Tobacco is heated in the bowl at the top of hookah and smoke is filtered through the water in the base of hookah. Sheesha is the tobacco smoked in a hookah. Its tobacco is very moist and sticky which has been soaked in honey or molasses and is made attractive for youth with variety of flavours including apple, plum, coconut, mango, mint and strawberry.

Originally from what is now modern-day Nepal and India, hookah has gained popularity, especially in the Middle East and is gaining popularity in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil as well as in Pakistan also.

In Pakistan, although traditionally prevalent in rural areas for generations, hookahs have become very popular in the cosmopolitan cities. Many clubs and cafes are offering them and it has become quite popular amongst the youth and students in Pakistan. This form of smoking has become very popular for social gatherings, functions, and events. There are a large number of cafes and restaurants offering a variety of hookahs. Karachi has seen a growth in this business. Now Islamabad also prospers by this trade.

Hookah and Sheesha

• Other names of Hookah are sheesha, nargeela, narghile, argeela, lula, lulava, cachimba, galyan chillim, water pipe, goza, hubble bubble, borry, arhile and narghile.
• Hookah is a water pipe used to smoke tobacco through cold water. Tobacco is heated in the bowl at the top of hookah and smoke is filtered through the water in the base of hookah.
• Sheesha is the tobacco smoked in a hookah. Its tobacco is very moist and sticky which has been soaked in honey or molasses and is made attractive for youth with variety of flavours including apple, plum, coconut, mango, mint and strawberry.

GLOBAL FACTS OF TOBACCO

• Globally, use of tobacco products is increasing, although it is decreasing in high income countries.
• Almost half of the world’s children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke.
• The epidemic is shifting to the developing world.
• More than 80% of the world’s smokers live in low and middle income countries.
• It is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of deaths in the world.
• 100 million deaths were caused by tobacco in the 20^th century. If current trends continue, there will be up to one billion deaths in the 21^st century.
• Unchecked, tobacco related deaths will increase to more than eight million a year by 2030, and 80% of those deaths will occur in the developing world.

 HEALTH FACTS OF SHEESHA (HOOKAH) AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE

• Smokers have a lower level of lung function than those persons who have never smoked.
• Smoking reduces the rate of lung growth.
• Smoking hurts young people’s physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance.
• Resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers.
• Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times as often as teens who don’t smoke, and produce phlegm more than twice as often as teens who don’t smoke.
• Teenage smokers are more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professionals for an emotional or psychological complaint.
• Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine.
• Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex.
• Sheesha mouthpiece is a serious source of transmission of tuberculosis and hepatitis.