Cameroon Bans Shisha Smoking In Bars, Others

Cameroononline | After Kenya, the Gambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ghana, Cameroon has become the latest African country to prohibit the use of shish pipes.

Cameroon has outlawed the use of shisha pipes, claiming that it is harmful to the health of the mostly young people who smoke them in bars and at home.

After Kenya, the Gambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ghana, Cameroon has become the latest African country to prohibit the use of shish pipes.

According to the health ministry, about 46% of young Cameroonians smoke the material, which is typically a mix of tobacco, molasses, glycerine, and flavorings, according to BBC News.

According to doctors, there is a "misconception" that shishas aren't as deadly as cigarettes, and the British Heart Foundation estimates that an hour of shisha is the equivalent of smoking more than 100 cigarettes.

"Traditionally, shisha tobacco contains cigarette tobacco, so it contains nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and heavy metals like arsenic and lead, just like cigarettes," it explains.

Tanzania and Sudan have both outlawed shisha in recent years, though the bans have been reversed and reintroduced multiple times subsequently.

"All studies to date show that, during a typical waterpipe usage session, the user will draw high amounts of toxicants," the WHO wrote in a 2015 advisory statement (ranging from less than one to tens of cigarette equivalents).

"These toxicants have been associated with addiction, heart and lung disease, and cancer in cigarette smokers, and if these toxicants are absorbed in significant levels in the body, they can have comparable effects in waterpipe users."