Abuja restaurant launches campaign on dangers of shisha

A leading burger restaurant in Abuja, Oliver’s Burger, has launched a campaign to sensitise the public on the dangers of shisha.

Shisha smokers, including second-hand smokers, are at the risk of cancer and other respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, according to medical experts.

The campaign tagged ‘#PipeDown’ is done in partnership with a public strategy firm, Gatefield. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been witnessing a high rate of shisha smoking particularly among young people. The habit constitutes a major health risk to those partaking in it.

The campaign is aimed at educating people, especially smokers of the flavoured tobacco product about the implications of the behaviour on public health and safety.

The restaurant, on Monday, crashed the prices of its burgers for a week as part of the #PipeDown campaign to inform young people about the health risks associated with shisha.

Oliver’s Burger has rebranded its trucks and food packaging to reflect the campaign. The restaurant also shared branded posters at their stands to buyers carrying messages such as ‘Smoking shisha for one hour is as bad as smoking 100 cigarettes’ and ‘Smoking shisha in public places endangers others’.

The chief executive officer of the restaurant, Oliver Naku, said the company considered the anti-shisha campaign important to ensure that customers led healthier lives.

“It is good to let customers know that shisha not only endangers their lives, but other people’s around them as well,” he said.

Maryam Hassan, a customer at the launch, said while she was not really a shisha smoker, she never knew it had such dangerous effects. “This campaign will help spread awareness on this issue because a lot of people are ignorant of the dangers of shisha,” she added.

Michael Olaniyan, Technical Resource Officer of the Washington DC based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said there was a lot of misinformation around shisha, adding “People think it’s trendy and healthy because of its deceptive flavours. Truth is that shisha is as bad if not more dangerous than cigarettes.”

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one hour session of shisha smoke is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes. People are also at risk of hepatitis when they share shisha pipes.”

Recall that the Nigerian Tobacco Control Act 2015 and the recently approved tobacco control regulations 2019 prohibit the smoking of cigarettes in public places. However, this law is yet to be fully implemented as shisha smoking is still common in many public places in Abuja.