The Disease Control and Prevention Department of the Ghana Health Service is worried by the high rate of shisha smoking among Junior High School (JHS) girls.
Dr. Kyei Faried, head of the department described the current situation as worrying, saying shisha is very harmful to the health of smokers, especially females, and urged them to desist from the practice.
“Shisha contains tobacco and tobacco has over 70 poisonous substances and nothing good in it,†he stated.
Latest survey shows, one out of every 50 junior high school girl smokes shisha, Dr Faried noted, and called on all to join in the fight against the use of all forms of tobacco
He noted Ghana has no future if one out of every 50 junior high school girls smokes shisha and therefore called on pastors, imams, the media and all to join in the campaign to stop smoking.
Dr Faried urged smokers to make conscious efforts to stop smoking saying “when one decides to stop smoking, within a year all the over 70 poisonous substances leaves the bloodstream so it is possible, desist from smoking and you will be fineâ€.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) recently explained why 'shisha' is illegal in Ghana.
The Senior Regulatory Officer at the FDA, Juliana Amankwah-Marfo in an interview with Ghana News Agency, stated that by law FDA has to regulate the usage of shisha and anyone who wants to offer it to the public must come to register.
“By law FDA has to regulate its usage. Operators must come to us to register before offering it to the public but no one has come to us to register.â€
Shisha smoking is a way of smoking tobacco through a bowl with a tube joined on.The tube has a mouthpiece that the smoker uses to breath in the smoke.
The trend originated from the Middle East and certain areas of Asia, but has recently become more popular in Ghana with young people joining.
READ ALSO:
Â