The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has urged 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.
The organisation made the call following the announced ban on the product by some countries across Africa, with Kenya being the latest after Tanzania and Rwanda.
Spokesman of the ERA/FoEN Philip Jakpor said on Thursday in Abuja that Tanzania banned the product in July 2016, while Rwanda started enforcing a ban with effect from December 15, 2017. According to him other countries across the world that have banned shisha and shisha bars are Pakistan, Jordan, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
According to him a recent study by University of Nairobi found shisha had traces of opiates, and concluded that smoking the product has effects similar to smoking tobacco. Pipe-sharing among users could also lead to the spread of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis.
“The reported ban on shisha across the globe and particularly in Kenya and other African countries is a welcome development, Nigeria should not wait for shisha bars to become recruitment centers for the under-aged before adopting a similar approach,” he said.
He also quoted ERA/FoEN Deputy Executive Director Akinbode Oluwafemi, as saying: “We commend our sister African countries that have taken this bold and life-saving step in banning this toxic product. The Nigerian government must act in like manner to save Nigerian youths who believe that shisha is less harmful and hype.”
Oluwafemi said that studies show that shisha patrons who smoke just one single session of shisha are in reality consuming the content of about 100 or more cigarettes, even as he lamented that while patrons of the product are portrayed as hype, they stand increased risk of heart diseases, cancer, lung disease and many other deadly ailments even as pregnant users also develop problems.
According to him Abuja, 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.
