Smoking Sheesha makes them “Kwelz!!!”

A smoke-filled dark room with loud music and comfortable couches occupied by a group of crazy teenagers passing a Sheesha round a table is a very common sight at any restaurant in Islamabad these days. Hookah or Sheesha-smoking has become a very
popular trend in Pakistan. Many restaurants and cafes are offering Sheesha in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and other cities of the country.

According to a 2010 survey 64.2 percent of males and 37.9 percent of females have smoked a `Sheesha’ at least once in their lifetime; 77.3 percent of males and 33.3 percent of females smoke a `Sheesha’ regularly. This flavoured ‘pipe smoking’ is gaining
popularity especially among the younger generation.

A misconception about Sheesha-smoking is that it’s less damaging to the body than cigarettes, because the tobacco is inhaled through water. However, the latest research explains that Sheesha smoke also contains tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals and other
toxic chemicals. These chemicals can be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) in the body.

Sheesha smoking may increase the risk of cancers, particularly of the lips, mouth, tongue, throat and lungs. The heavy volume of smoke from Sheesha may also cause irritation in the lungs, leading to allergy-induced asthma. Even in individuals who are not
prone to asthma, the toxic chemicals in the smoke can irritate and inflame the lining of the nasal passages, mouth and throat and trigger reactions by the immune system.

Similar to cigarette smoking, Sheesha smoking also carries the risk of addiction. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention underlines that it contains tobacco, nicotine and other chemicals that makes it addictive. Nicotine reaches the brain in only
about 10 seconds after inhalation. For this reason, addiction can occur after even a few sessions of smoking Sheesha. Unpleasant withdrawal symptoms include irritation, fatigue, headaches, tingling and depression.

Apart of all the adverse side effects the most serious issue is that many restaurant owners have started adding narcotics in the Sheesha. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pakistan’s population of 160 million includes 22-25 million tobacco
smokers; 36 percent of adult males and 9 percent of adult females smoke. About 60,000 people die annually from tobacco-related diseases in the country.

However, apart from all these health hazards it brings, Sheesha is definitely a fad these days. The target audience for its marketing are teenagers because of their naivety, the “wannabe-ish” streak that is seen predominant in them, the “Kewlness” they aim
to achieve through charcoal lit pipe and on the top, their knack in emotionally blackmailing their parents into giving them huge sums in the name of pocket money.

Have you noticed one thing that the prevalent price of Sheesha is around a thousand rupees or more! Isn’t this a bit too expensive for teenagers to even think of buying it? Have parents failed to keep the activities of their young lads in check? Is it not
parents’ concern any more that what company and peers their kids have? While we expect Government to ban the Sheesha for our benefit, is our own sense of right and wrong dead?

It’s high time we look into this issue with sensitivity and concern, or it may be too late for us to wish to see our kids hale and healthy.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=4461

Posted by Khayyam Bokhari on Nov 23 2011. Filed under Editorial, Opinion, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry