Young Liberians nowadays are seen in social gatherings and other places taking in Shisha; a way of smoking tobacco through a bowl with a hose or tube joined on, this tube has a mouthpiece that the smoker uses to breath in the smoke.
Often, shisha is smoked in large groups, rather than as individuals. By sharing mouthpieces, various commensal and pathogenic organisms may be transmitted between the smokers through saliva.
According to medical experts, there is a substantial risk of infection with herpes, hepatitis and tuberculosis (TB) after smoking shisha. In a shisha session (which usually lasts 20-80 minutes), a shisha smoker can inhale the same amount of smoke as a cigarette smoker consuming over 100 cigarettes.
Like cigarette smoking, these toxins from tobacco-based shisha puts smokers at risk of developing: heart and circulatory diseases. cancers.
Long-term effects include impaired pulmonary function, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, esophageal cancer and gastric cancer. Short-term hookah use is associated with acute health effects, including increased heart rate and blood pressure, reduced pulmonary function, and carbon monoxide intoxication.
Meanwhile, some health experts who spoke to GNN over the weekend warned of serious health consequences of people who think this habit of smoking Shisha regularly should be their life style should immediately see reason to stop if they are to live happily.
Check us out next week for another GNN Health tip.