Is One Puff Of Shisha Equivalent To Smoking 10 Cigarettes?
Proponents of the ongoing ban argue that shisha is far worse than smoking cigarettes, but how do the two compare?
In the period leading up to Kenya’s ban on shisha, Mombasa County Health Chief Officer Dr Khadija Shikely was quoted as saying that the ban was necessary due to the fact that shisha was more lethal than cigarettes.
“One gulp of shisha is equivalent to smoking 10 sticks of cigarettes”, Dr Shikely is quoted as saying. “It is a health hazard”, she added, “that has to be eradicated immediately”.
Shisha, also known as hookah, hubble bubble, narghile or waterpipe, is a way of smoking tobacco in which the vapour passes through water before inhalation. The vapour is then often sweetened and flavoured in the process.
Kenya joins Rwanda and Tanzania in the war against the leisure drug. This is because shisha smoking has increased exponentially in East Africa, especially among the youth. Mombasa is one of the hardest hit counties in Kenya, with about 60% of youths in the region having smoked shisha at least once.
Proponents of the ban cite research showing that smoking shisha can lead to major health risks like cancer, heart disease, impotence at a young age, infertility in women, and premature ageing.
Outgoing Health Cabinet Secretary, Cleopa Mailu also defended the ban, claiming that shisha is a gateway to consumption of other hard drugs such as heroin.
So the question is, how does shisha compare to smoking cigarettes?
PesaCheck has researched the issue, and finds the claim that one puff of shisha is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes to be FALSE for the following reasons:
According to an article by The Guardian, Dr Kamal Chaouachi, a tobacco expert who has researched shisha for 15 years, comparing shisha with cigarettes amounts to comparing apples to oranges.
In a study he carried out in response to the WHO’s findings, Dr Chaouachi argues that several factors determine the levels of danger of smoking either shisha or cigarettes including the amount of tar and nicotine contained in the smoke, a sentiment backed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
It is therefore difficult to make a blanket statement comparing shisha with cigarette smoke.
Both shisha and cigarettes come with a significant exposure to carcinogens and a prolonged exposure to nicotine, which could lead to addiction.
Researchers at the University of Nairobi tested several shisha samples and traces of opiates, including morphine and heroin. One sample was also found to include methamphetamines, also known as crystal meth, which is a stimulant drug.
A shisha smoking session may expose the smoker to more smoke over a longer period of time than occurs when smoking a cigarette. Shisha is often sweetened and flavoured, making it very appealing which creates a false sense of security that its health risks are less than those associated with cigarette smoking.
For this reason, the World Health Organization (WHO), reveals that cigarette smokers typically take 8 to 12 puffs, inhaling 0.5 to 0.6 litres of smoke over about 5 to 7 minutes. Each cigarette puff contains about 40 to 75ml of smoke.
In contrast, shisha-smoking sessions typically last 20 to 80 minutes, during which the smoker may take 50 to 200 puffs which range from about 0.15 to 1 litres of smoke each.”
Therefore, during a shisha session, a smoker could inhale as much smoke as a cigarette smoker would inhale from 100 or more cigarettes, but one puff of shisha does not come close to producing as much smoke as 10 whole cigarettes as claimed.
This means that the claim that one puff of shisha is equivalent to smoking 10 sticks of cigarettes is MOSTLY FALSE.
The increased duration of shisha smoking sessions, coupled with the increased amount of smoke inhaled per puff leads to a higher exposure to nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide, putting shisha smokers at greater risk than those smoking cigarettes. However, one puff is not equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes as claimed by Dr Shikely.
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This report was written by Soila Kenya, an upcoming data journalist working at Code for Africa, and edited by PesaCheck managing editor Eric Mugendi. The infographics are by John Githinji, a Kenyan graphic designer, illustrator and animation enthusiast.
PesaCheck, co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, is East Africa’s first fact-checking initiative. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of so-called ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ or SDG public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. PesaCheck To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is a joint initiative of Code for Africa, through its local Code for Kenya chapter, and the International Budget Partnership (Kenya), in partnership with a coalition of local media organisations, with additional support from the International Center for Journalists(ICFJ).
