Leicester Health Chiefs slam shisha as ‘worse than smoking’

Academics and health care professionals are worried that the amount of time people smoke shisha and prolonged exposure to second smoke could be as bad as smoking cigarettes.

The public health warning comes as the number of shisha bars in Leicester has reached 10, and increase of 6 since 2004. A further 15 are planned for the city.

Officials at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and Leicester City Council said it was as bad as tobacco – and in most cases worse than smoking.

The primary worry is that many shisha smokers believed water in the pipes filtered out the nasty chemicals they are inhaling. They are also worried about the amount of time people spend inhaling the smoke.

This is untrue as the water acts as a coolant, enabling the lungs to fill with more smoke and carbon monoxide.

Mr Qasim Chowdray, from the NHS Trust told the Leicester Mercury: “The presence of carbon monoxide can see the veins and arteries deprive the body of good-quality oxygen over a sustained period, which can weaken the body’s capability to circulate blood.”

Shisha – also called hookah, narghile, waterpipe or hubble bubble – is a way of smoking tobacco, sometimes mixed with fruit or molasses sugar, through a bowl and tube.

Assistant mayor Sarah Russell, the council’s spokeswoman for health, said: “one piece of research suggested one hour of shisha smoking is the equivalent of smoking 60 cigarettes.”

The British Heart Foundation agree. They say that: “Shisha smokers are at risk of the same kinds of diseases as cigarette smokers, such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and problems during pregnancy.”

The Tab’s Ifrah Mukri made many of the same arguments in a recent opinion piece, arguing that not only is shisha boring, it’s also really bad for you.

Leicester is not a unique case though. The number of shisha bars across the country has risen in recent years and whilst they may seem like cool places to go, people have to be aware of the health risks.

“There has been a dramatic rise in the number of shisha cafes throughout the country and this has public health implications.