SHISHA: 'A Sweet Poison For Youth' - by Ahmed Raza

Shisha or Hookah smoking emerged as a style icon in the elite circles in the beginning but within a short span, Shishas fan club covered people from nearly all groups of society. The most enthusiastic of these were, of course, young people. Shisha is serious threat to the health of teenagers, especially the girls. This habit was found to be most prevalent in the 16-25 years age group with 70% shisha smokers being male and 30% females.

Is Shisha harmful? While many may argue that Shisha smoking is not harmful, medical experts say otherwise as tobacco product in any form contains nicotine and nicotine is addictive. Tobacco products are dangerous as it contains chemicals which are toxic and carcinogenic.

The common belief is that smoke is filtered by the water when in actual fact, nicotine is not water-soluble. The water filter is a gimmick hence the smoke is inhaled by a smoker.

In a shisha session lasting 60 minutes, a smoker can inhale as much smoke as a cigarette

Smoker would inhale from 100 – 200 cigarettes.

Where people may refrain from trying cigarettes and other drugs due to the conspicuous black label, the seemingly innocent fruity Hubble bubble appears quite a harmless choice. For many it is a hobby, a favorite pastime with buddies, a means of being up-to-date with the latest trends or simple leisure puffing just because others are doing it. In addition, its usage isn’t confined to Shisha bars only. It isn’t rare to find students using their own water pipes in hostels.

Also a worth mentioning fact here is that under the cover of Shisha tradition, many other drugs were being paved in too. Many bars have been reported to serve Shisha mixed with illegal drugs like heroine, hashish, etc. Also at many Shisha spots, it is also available with wine in the filtering base instead of water.

Of course a 100 percent ban on anything cannot be deemed possible but Instead of declaring a complete ban, minor initiatives like strict action against serving it to underage teens, heavy taxations, official checks and certain restrictions on Shisha bars etc. will act as smarter tools for this cause.

Whatever the case maybe, formulating a serious strategy and then properly enforcing it for offsetting the gripping Shisha culture is an imperative need of the hour.

SHISHA is ruining the lives of younger generations! Our young generation is diving into this deadly poison as it has become a common feature of our society! Parents and young generation of Pakistan hardly know the side effects of this drug! Our young generation who are addicted to it are suffering from mouth diseases and other harmful effects have been diagnosed due to this intake of SHEESHA! It can also take one life as well! Our government is still quite on this issue.

There should work on banning this shisha culture from our society only then we can produce a healthy Pakistan! Otherwise our youth will be drag in this poison.It’s my request to all the world leaders to stop the spreading of SHEEHA in their culture as it’s only going to ruin your next generation! Please SAVE YOUR NEW GENERATION for a BETTER tomorrow!!!

Key Words: Shisha, Smoke, Harmful, Nicotine, Drug

By: Ahmed Raza Zafar.