March 14, 2012
Rise in ‘shisha bars’ prompts warning on dangers of waterpipe
smoking
We're warning of the dangers of shisha
today - No Smoking Day - as new data reveals a dramatic rise
in the number of shisha bars across the UK coupled with widespread
unawareness of the harm it can cause.
Freedom of Information (FoI) data from
133 local authorities in major towns and cities
across the UK shows the number of shisha bars has rocketed by
210% since the year the smoking ban came into
force. The figures show there were 179 known
shisha bars in 2007 compared with 556 now.
Shisha smokers inhaling flavoured tobacco
through exotic waterpipes have become a common
sight in city streets. But under the romance and heady smells lies
a familiar killer that we want people to be
aware of.
We also surveyed people about the
dangers of shisha and most were unaware that during a typical
hour-long shisha session you can inhale the same amount of smoke as
from more than 100 tobacco cigarettes. A total of
84 per cent of respondents thought it was 10 cigarettes or
fewer.
Health risks
Contrary to popular belief, shisha is not safer than smoking cigarettes
Our associate medical
director, Dr Mike Knapton, said: “Contrary to popular belief,
shisha is
not safer than smoking cigarettes. Don’t
be duped by the sweet smell and wholesome sounding fruity flavours,
if you use shisha you are a smoker and that means you’re putting
your health at risk.
“It’s linked to the same serious and
life-threatening diseases as cigarettes and there are
added risks because you often smoke it for far longer than you
would a cigarette and you’re also exposed to toxins from the wood
or charcoal used to burn the tobacco. Fortunately No Smoking Day is a great
opportunity for anyone who smokes, in whatever form, to try
and quit.”
Shisha smoking is linked to the same kinds of
diseases as cigarette smoking including heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and
problems during pregnancy. Yet more than one in ten (13%) UK adults
we surveyed thought there were no health harms from using shisha,
and just 43 per cent knew shisha could contain
tobacco.
More shisha bars
The FoI data shows 53% of
local authorities have – or have had - a shisha bar since 2007,
while more than 40% have seen a rise in
the number of shisha bars since the smoking ban came into
force.
This is in stark contrast to the steady
decline in cigarette smokers in the UK and has
prompted us to urge people to find out the facts about shisha,
which is also known as hookah, hubble bubble and narghile, as part
of our No Smoking Day campaign.
Take the leap and quit today
More than 750,000 people
attempt to quit on No Smoking Day each year. But
the charity is concerned thousands of quitters may still be putting
their health at risk by using shisha, and that the rising number of
shisha bars could provide a new gateway for people to start smoking
and become addicted to tobacco.
Take the leap on Wequit.co.uk
The
survey results also showed shisha is most
popular among
young people with more than a quarter of 18 to 24 year
olds saying they’d used it. Worryingly misconceptions about the
dangers of shisha were highest among this group and those aged
25-34 with
15% each believing there were no health
harms from shisha at all while
44% of the younger
adults thought it was less harmful than cigarettes.
By comparison, 17% of overall
respondents thought shisha was less harmful than cigarettes.
The data showed shisha is no longer a pastime
for perceived specific community groups alone, with almost
one in ten people of white ethnicity saying they’d
used it.
The survey also showed almost one in
ten former cigarette smokers have used shisha as well as
almost one in ten non-smokers.