The good and bad in shisha smoking

Perched on high stools, they laugh out loud. The mood is cheerful as four men probably in their early 20s, inhale from long pipes standing on a table in their midst. Scented smoke hits your nose as you get closer to them. “It feels good,” one of the men says as he lets out a cloud of smoke with a sigh of relief. Yes, those who have smoked shisha say its cool, trendy and comes with a good feeling as one socialises with friends over a drink. It is becoming a trend for young people to cool off with shisha in most of the high-end bars in Kigali, partly because most people think it is a safer alternative to cigarettes. But what is the health downside of smoking shisha? Unfortunately, findings suggest that it is even more dangerous. For instance, the World Health Organisation estimates that an hour-long session of shisha smoking involves 200 puffs while an average cigarette is just 20 puffs. Therefore, a single session of shisha smoking would be equivalent to a hundred cigarettes. Research also shows that, the average volume of smoke inhaled during a typical shisha smoking session is about 90,000 milliliters compared to 500 milliters inhaled when smoking ordinary cigarettes. What is shisha? Shisha contains tobacco either mixed with fruit, molasses or sugar. Other flavours could include mint, apple, lemon and strawberry burnt with wood, coal or charcoal. The smoke produced after the tobacco is subjected to heat is what individuals look for in shisha. While ordinary tobacco users puff out most of this smoke after sucking, shisha requires inhaling huge amounts of smoke from the pipes before exhaling only a limited quantity. “This is the biggest danger though false beliefs still prevail that it is safer than cigarettes. It carries the same risk of complications,” says Dr Rachna Pande. As with ordinary tobacco, staying in the vicinity of shisha smokers exposes people to the dangers of passive smoking while others who share pipes risk contracting contagious infections. “Using a common pipe for smoking carries additional risk of transmission of microbes from the mouth of one person to another, which transmits respiratory tract infections such as tuberculosis,” adds Dr Pande. Other experts suggest that smoking such tobacco-based products is likely to increase ones chances of contracting TB. Although cases are rarely isolated, each year between 6,000 to 8,000 new TB cases are registered in Rwanda. Eye and skin problems The scent in the shisha prevents most people from realising that it is much of a danger. Some studies on food and chemical toxicology show that the nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide in the shisha are 4,100 and 11-fold respectively compared to ordinary cigarette concentration. A woman smoking shisha. For pregnant women, smoking poses many health hazards to the life of the unborn baby. (Net photo) Such a concentration would expose people to problems such as sight degeneration, warns Dr Chiku Mathenge, the co-director of Rwanda International Institute of Ophthalmology. “Depending on the overall concentration of the flavours put in the pots, smoking shisha may increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts,” she explains. Dr Mathenge further points out that since the components are the same as those in tobacco, shisha is addictive. “Sadly shisha smokers tend to inhale more toxins found in tobacco, thus risking their health more. Just like all abused substances, eventually, individuals become addicted,” warns Dr Mathenge. According to US-based Mayo Clinic, all forms of smoking speed up the normal aging process of the skin thus contributing to wrinkles. “These skin changes may occur after only 10 years of smoking. The more cigarettes you smoke and the longer you smoke, the more skin wrinkling you’re likely to have even though the early skin damage from smoking may be hard for you to see initially,” explains Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic further points out that more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke cause damage to the skin fibers known as collagen and elastin that normally give the skin its strength and elasticity causing the skin to become flabby. However, repeated exposure to the heat from burning cigarettes and the facial expressions as people smoke could contribute to wrinkling. Other experts suggest that increased use of shisha smoking is a risk to cardiovascular diseases. In an online article by the Daily Mail, Professor Joep Perk of the European Society of Cardiology explains that smoking of all types is still, without any competition, the strongest risk factor for cardiovascular disease. “There has been a lot of research over the past years which makes us very clear that all tobacco use, including the water pipe, smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes, is simply not good for your health,” says Professor Perk. Burden of smoking According to the world health Organisation, in 2015, over 1.1 billion people smoked tobacco products although there were more males than females. Trends indicate that smoking is declining worldwide but in other countries, the prevalence of tobacco smoking appears to be increasing in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region and the African Region. Dr Nathan Ruhamya, a cardiologist at King Faisal Hospital, also adds that smoking of any kind is an independent contributory factor to cardiovascular diseases. “Of course, shisha is a tabacco and using it also means risking your health. All smokers are at risk of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and stroke, among others,” says Dr Ruhamya. Research further suggests that chain smoking of any tobacco substance predisposes individuals to cancer. editorial@newtimes.co.rw ************************************************ How to quit smoking shisha- Outline your goal and outcome Our goal is to stop smoking shisha completely, and have an outcome to live longer and have a healthy life. This will enable shisha smoker to decide and to see exactly what they are trying to accomplish and keep them on a specific path. - Gather data This will help decision makers have actual evidence to help them come up with a solution. A person, who decided to stop smoking shisha, needs to know and find out the effect of smoking shisha to the body. By understanding the effects of smoking shisha, the quitter will be more motivated to quit smoking. - Find other alternatives in quitting shisha To quit smoking shisha, expect that there will be struggle. The process of quitting is not easy, but it is not impossible too. It would be a big help then that before starting the course to quit smoking shisha, find an aid or alternative that you can do or use to destruct you from smoking shisha again, like find another hobby or eat some candies. This part will be discussed in my future article. Coming up with more than one solution will enable the shisha smoker to see good alternative which can actually work to the success of quitting shisha. - List pros and cons of each alternative With the list of pros and cons, you can eliminate the solutions that have more cons than pros, making your decision easier. To list cons of smoking shisha the following are included: it can cause cancer, lung diseases, heart attacks, strokes, and blood vessel diseases, risks to women and unborn child, years of life lost due to smoking. These are just to list some. While pros of smoking shisha could have: being in to the new trend and meeting more friends in social gathering. You can make your personalise pros and cons to aid you more to know what to do. Better yet, get a placard or index card and write all the pros of quitting shisha so that you will be reminded of you goal every time you look at it. - Make the decision Once you analyse each solution, you should pick the pros that are most significant. The evidence that you are still reading until now only proves you had made that decision. - Immediately take action Once the decision is picked, you should implement it right away. They say action, beats in action. So act now and strike while the iron is hot. Take now that first action that will take you to the door of freedom. Make your decision be known to the person that surrounds you including your love ones, friends, and co-worker of your decision to quit smoking shisha. Be open to the public about your plan to quit and get help from them. Start the new journey to freedom now. - Learn from, and reflect on the decision making. This step allows you to see what you did right and wrong when coming up, and putting the decision to use. Follow up is very important. So every once in a while be reminded of your brevity of deciding to quit smoking shisha and that you are not far from being finally free. There is hope for shisha smoker, no matter how old you are or how long you have smoked, quitting can help you live longer and be healthier. People who stop smoking before age 50 cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who keep smoking. Ex-smokers enjoy a higher quality of life. They have fewer illnesses like colds and the flu, lower rates of bronchitis and pneumonia, and feel healthier than people who still smoke. It is not too late, have that decision to quit smoking shisha and make it known to the public and start living healthier. Remember you are just a decision away from success. So act, now. Agencies ************************************************ Health experts speak out Sonia Sebuseruka, an ophthalmologist Sonia Sebuseruka Smoking of whatever nature has a lot of hazards to the human body, and the more one smokes, the more the risks of getting different diseases. For instance, the nicotine in the tobacco increases the risk of one developing cataracts. Theogene Uwiringimana, a general practitioner at CHUK Theogene Uwiringimana People who smoke have higher chances of contracting lung cancer than those who don’t. For those who are addicted, smoking is likely to affect their sense of taste and smell, which may interfere with one’s appetite. Iba mayele, a gynecologist Iba mayele For a pregnant woman, smoking poses many health hazards to the life of the unborn baby. For instance, a woman who smokes while pregnant is likely to deliver infants with low weight birth or premature babies, which can put the life of such children in danger. Jean de dieu Nsanzimana, a nurse Jean de dieu Nsanzimana Smoking increases the chances of one having cardiovascular diseases. Smoking can also lead to one developing some types of cancer like bowel, esophagus and chest cancer. Compiled by Lydia Atieno