‘Shisha’ causes cancer too, doctors warn

“A session of shisha smoking is equivalent to smoking 100 sticks of cigarettes,” medics have warned.

Commemorating anti-tobacco day on May 31, medics at the Bamenda Regional Hospital in the North West Region of Cameroon told the public that “almost all cancers are related to tobacco consumption and 80% of lung cancer result from smoking”.

Smoking of “shisha” is a common practice among youths in Bamenda usually in snacks and drinking spots, fancied by ladies.

Raising public awareness, the Coordinator of the Regional Technical Group for Tuberculosis Control, Dr Mercy Fondoh, emphasized that active smokers expose non-smokers to the risks surrounding cigarette smoking.

To protect the lungs, avoid cancer and live healthier lives, Dr Mercy advices the public to “stay away from people who smoke, focus your energy on physical exercises, have nicotine replacement therapy and someone to encourage you morally”.

Smoking like the consumption of other drugs is an addictive habit usually associated with peer influence for those who build this behaviour.