Gender
Beyond the flavours: the hidden dangers of shisha smoking
On a hot Sunday afternoon, the Labadi beach or other leading beaches are filled with people from all walks of life, both foreigners and Ghanaians alike.
Children are seen playing in the sand while adults enjoy some food and drinks or bath in the sea amidst loud music.
Traders, horse riders and pub owners would also cash in, pitching their business to revellers at the beach.
As dusk settles in, some people would leave while others troop in, with the place becoming livelier as the beach is filled with a lot more people.
The atmosphere is choked with an unusual smell of smoke; a smoke emanating from random tables on the beach.
It is usually from a flavoured water pipe popularly known as shisha, sitting on the tables and used mostly by women who shared the same tube with friends on the same table.
This is often the sight at most beaches on holidays or weekends.
An attendant at the Labadi beach, told this writer that, shisha was mostly taken by women and the price ranges from GH¢50 to GH¢70 at the beach.
She also said the price is higher at other places saying “you can also get it from GH¢100 to GH¢200.
This mirrors what happens at other beaches, clubs, pubs and social gatherings across the capital and the country at large.
Shisha, also known as hookah or water pipe, is another form of combustible smoking of tobacco, where flavoured tobacco is burned with charcoal, while the smoke is guided through water via tube before it is inhaled by the smoker.
The intention behind the passage of tobacco smoke through water is to filter the smoke to make it safer. Also, the added flavour, mostly fruity, is to enhance the packaging and improve desirability.
This type of smoking was invented in ancient India, and it has remained a tradition to the Middle East, and a common practice for hundreds of years.
It is estimated that, globally, about 100 million people smoke shisha on a daily basis and most of these are adolescents, high school students, and university students.
Shisha smoking has become a common practice in social gatherings, generally shared in a group of four and five individuals and usually lasts from 20 to 80 minutes with 50–200 puffs per session.
The use of Shisha with tobacco products leads to particulate matter such as nicotine, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide. The presence of nicotine in smoke is the primary cause of dependence on tobacco-related products, hence its addiction.
The Ghanaian Times newspaper reported on November 6, 2024 that a new survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that more young women in the country were engaged in various forms of smoking on a daily basis than their male counterparts, resulting in cancer, heart and lung-related diseases in recent times.
It said WHO noted that while traditional cigarette smoking may be on the low, ‘Shisha,’ was rife particularly among persons 18 to 29 years, across the country.
“More than half of current tobacco smokers report smoking on a daily basis. Among daily smokers, 73.6 per cent smoked manufactured cigarette with individuals consuming three sticks of manufactured cigarettes per day on the average.
Among daily smokers, younger persons began smoking at an earlier age compared to their older counterparts. The proportion of current smokers who smoke shisha is 7.8 per cent, which is more prevalent among age group 18 to 29 years and highest among women,” it revealed.
Principal Investigator and Deputy Director of Disease Surveillance at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Dennis Laryea, expressed concern over the increasing rate of females smoking shisha in the country which holds dire consequences for the future.
“Once females take up something, it’s easier to drag the males along. And once we’re seeing this in younger women, it also means that they are likely to grow up with it and that is a potential risk for our development,” he stated.
Dr Laryea disclosed that while ‘Shisha’ may be portrayed as a trendy, favourable substance, it was highly harmful as it contained chemical which could be more dangerous to one’s health due to the longer smoking sessions. In an interview with the Principal Regulatory Officer with the Tobacco Products Department of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Mavis Danso on Friday, she said Shisha is legal because it is a tobacco product but its smoking is not allowed in public areas.
She explained that smoking of shisha is only allowed in designated areas, adding that it is so because tobacco products are scientifically known to cause a lot of illnesses which includes Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
“Once you smoke as an individual, you put yourself at risk and also endanger the people around you who also inhale your smoke which is called second-hand smoke,” she stated.
She again explained that the smoke coming out of the nostrils of the one smoking and also from the end of the cigarette or from the Shisha device, inhaled by those around is known as secondary smoking and also endangers the lives of the latter.
So in order for government to protect its citizenry, there is a law on ban of smoking at public places except in designated smoking area saying “you are not supposed to endanger other people once you are smoking.”
Ms Danso said, the department often engage in routine monitoring which includes at night as well as public education to ensure enforcement of the law
She mentioned that, her department also relies on voluntary complains from the public, stating that, citizens were expected to be enforcers of the law by reporting to the FDA or question the owner of the place.
She was optimistic of Ghana becoming a Shisha free country but said it will not only depend on enforcers but also on facility owners and vigilant individuals who ensure that the right thing was done.
Ms Danso said there was a high prevalence of shisha smoking among women as well as a misconception that shisha was better than smoking, a notion she described as untrue.
She mentioned that an hour use of shisha was equivalent to smoking 200 sticks of cigarettes.
Ms Danso also mentioned that the idea that it passes through water and the contaminants remained in the water was false and that once the substance is taken, it affects the entire body.
According to her, there was the tendency of it being additive due to nicotine found in it and also has risk factors such as heart and lung diseases and also cancers, adding that “there is no safe form of tobacco, whether smoked, inhaled or whatever forms it comes in, it is harmful and can cause serious health implications to the body.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), shisha also known as water pipe tobacco smoking was probably associated with oral, oesophageal and lung cancers and possibly with gastric and bladder cancers.
It said, shisha has also been associated with respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, periodontal disease, low birth weight, perennial rhinitis, male infertility, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and impairment of mental health.
With women, shisha can cause higher risk of preterm menstrual pause, reduced bone mineral density, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy; it is also associated with a higher rate of infant mortality and can lead to intrauterine growth restriction and the rise of certain chromosomal anomalies.
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three which states “good health and well-being” targets reduction in the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being by 2030.
This can be achieved when government and its health agencies, non-governmental organisations and individuals help enforce existing laws on shisha smoking.
Also, workshops, seminars should be organised by various stakeholders for young women focusing on the dangers of shisha, utilise social media platforms to raise awareness about risks of Shisha while sharing engaging content and personal stories and also create safe space and engaging recreational spaces for young women offering alternatives to shisha cafes and bars.
More so, it is important for facility owners to obey the laws on shisha smoking while the citizenry reports offenders to the FDA for appropriate punishments.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, a Deputy Chief of Staff, has called for sustained legal and institutional reforms to address gender biases within Ghana’s justice system.
She urged women lawyers to build on the legacy of trailblazers who have shaped the country’s legal landscape.
Madam Bampoe Addo made the call at the maiden Biennial Conference of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) Women’s Forum, organised in collaboration with the Ghana School of Law in Accra on Tuesday.
The event was on the theme: “The role of women lawyers in national development: honouring trailblazers.”
Madam Bampoe Addo said the progress made by women in the legal profession was not accidental but the result of years of struggle, sacrifice and determination.
She paid tribute to early trailblazers such as Matilda Foster and Annie Jiagge, saying their achievements broke barriers and opened doors for generations of women lawyers.
She commended the contributions of female judicial leaders, including Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, Mrs Sophia Akuffo, and Mrs Gertrude Torkornoo, whose leadership reflected the growing influence of women in Ghana’s judiciary.
Women lawyers had made significant contributions across multiple sectors, including the courtroom, academia, policy development, civil society advocacy and community engagement.
Madam Bampoe Addo noted that their efforts had advanced gender equality, strengthened institutions and improved access to justice in the country.
She expressed concern about the persistent gender biases within the justice system, particularly in some judicial pronouncements that could undermine the dignity of women.
The courts, she noted, must not only deliver justice but must also communicate it in a manner that upheld respect and fairness for all parties.
“There is undervaluation of women’s unpaid domestic labour, including caregiving responsibilities, which are often overlooked in legal determinations, especially in matrimonial cases,” she added.
She called for a more progressive and context-sensitive approach to adjudication, drawing on comparative jurisprudence from other jurisdictions to ensure fairness and equity.
Madam Bampoe Addo urged legal practitioners and judges to build on progressive legal precedents and ensure that Ghana’s legal system evolved to reflect contemporary social realities.
She emphasised the importance of mentorship and inclusivity, encouraging women in leadership to create opportunities for others and support the next generation of female lawyers.
She called on young women to pursue legal careers with confidence, adding that the profession offered vast opportunities to contribute to national development.
Commissioner of Police (COP) Lydia Donkor, the Director-General of CID, said women lawyers played indispensable roles in shaping Ghana’s legal and governance systems.
They had excelled in various fields and occupied key leadership positions, contributing to policy reforms and championing justice for vulnerable groups, she added.
COP Donkor paid tribute to trailblazing women lawyers whose achievements continued to inspire and motivate younger generations to strive for excellence.
She urged students and young practitioners to go beyond academic successes and embrace the broader mission of promoting justice, fairness and societal transformation.
She encouraged more women lawyers to consider careers in the Ghana Police Service, describing law enforcement as a critical area where legal expertise was needed to strengthen justice delivery.
She commended the organisers of the conference for the success, saying it would encourage the next generation of women lawyers to continue to make significant contributions to Ghana’s development. – GNA
The Dzidula Pink Foundation has engaged expectant mothers on cervical cancer at a recent pregnancy clinic held at St Gregory Hospital, Budumburam in the Awutu Senya East District.
The engagement formed part of its advocacy on early cancer detection to safeguard maternal health.
It also formed part of the foundation’s broader mission to raise awareness about cancers affecting women, particularly at a time when many may be least likely to consider screening especially pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Addressing a gathering of pregnant women at the clinic, the president of the foundation, Ms Fafa Gozo, highlighted a worrying trend where a significant number of women are diagnosed with cancer around the time of delivery.
This, she noted, often results from delayed screening and limited awareness about the importance of early detection.
She educated the women about the need to prioritise their health by undertaking timely cancer screening, even while navigating the demands of pregnancy.
She reiterated that early detection remains one of the most effective ways to improve treatment outcomes and reduce mortality.
“Pregnancy should not be a reason to delay screening. In fact, it is a critical period where heightened awareness can save lives,” Ms Gozo said.
The engagement also created a platform for open dialogue, allowing the expectant mothers to ask questions, share concerns, and receive guidance from health professionals present at the clinic.
Health experts at the facility echoed the foundation’s message, underscoring that routine checks and screenings, when done early, can lead to timely interventions and better health outcomes for both mother and child.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
