Keep off the Grass and Hookahs

Double teaming a hookah

Hot on the heels of my report on a Cape Town signs ‘suggestive’ message [article here] , insinuating we must ‘Keep off the Grass’ on the Tableview Beachfront, comes this report about Hookahs. Is this another subliminal message? I think not. Anyway the article makes for some interesting reading.

You can read it here. Below are some excerpts.

The Eastern smoking pipes known as hookahs could be potentially more dangerous than cigarettes, researchers say.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) has said that hookah smoking could be a major contributor in the transmission of diseases such as tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and oral herpes infection.

MRC president Professor Anthony Mbewu said the growing practice of using hookahs was a concern.

“The popular belief is that hookah pipe smoking is harmless, or less harmful than cigarette smoking,” he said.

“The World Health Organisation has advised that there is no evidence that the use of hookah pipes is safe, and that in some respects it may be even more harmful and hazardous to health than cigarettes.”

Apparently some parents let their kids use them. I’ve seen this in action (older kids though) so I can vouch for it, but some of the further parts of the article are just plain fucking disturbing.

Professor Angela Mathee, director of the MRC’s Environment & Health Research Unit, said a study in Johannesburg had found smoking hookahs was so widespread and accepted in some communities that children as young as six were doing it.

“I have personally witnessed a two-year-old child smoking a hookah pipe in the presence of his mother.

“I have also seen children as young as six smoking pipes they made from plastic bottles and straws.”

So is this an official study or just based on what she saw? I hope she said something about it!

Mathee went on to say the increasing use of hookahs was not restricted to South Africa. Maybe our tough anti smoking laws have something to do with it. The article continues…

Hookahs were so popular that they were now being sold in spaza shops, as well as in sweet shops in shopping malls throughout the country.

In Cape Town the practice is popular, with many night clubs and restaurants offering puffs for their patrons for as much as R40.

A popular Kurdish restaurant, Mesapotamia, offers hookah smoking in its Shisha Lounge.

Owner Baran Kalay said this form of smoking was becoming popular among patrons.

His restaurant, which used imported Shisha tobacco and marinated herbs from the Middle East, charged between R30 and R40 for puffs, depending on the flavour.

“People love it because it’s lighter, it smells good and lasts longer than a cigarette,” Kalay said. “It’s becoming a preferred way of social smoking in Cape Town. People believe it has less nicotine than cigarettes, and even non-smokers love it.”

Mbewu said that to raise awareness about the dangers of hookah smoking, the MRC had initiated a partnership with organisations and roleplayers, including the National Council Against Smoking and the national Department of Health.

With World No Tobacco Day on May 31, Mbewu called for further research into the use of hookahs in South Africa and appealed to the authorities to ensure tobacco legislation was strictly enforced.

Ummmm SWEET SHOPS? That is pushing it a bit.

You see in my day, smoking pipes meant something completely different. Ask this oke he might know… [huge rox]

Hookahs

I’ve seen many a young lady tell me they don’t smoke, only to puff the bejesus out of one of these things at our cities finest establishments. Some of this is almost too hard to believe, and my guess is that the problem isn’t the smoking of the hookah, but rather the lack of intellect or common sense of the people in charge of those smoking the hookahs.

That or shameless capitalism and a basic fuck you to the publics health.

Remember it’s not REALLY smoking if you don’t inhale. Kinda like it’s not REALLY lesbian if your knickers are on.

Puff puff pass please.