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