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THE DANGERS OF A HOOKAH

11/05/2023 11:38:00 Mxolisi Dlamini

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MBABANE – Be warned!

As the festival season kicks in, young people tend to want to experiment and try out different things some of which can be dangerous, like smoking hubbly. The Entertainment Desk set out to find out what the dangers are with the advice from a medical doctor who alerted us about the different types of cancer it causes. The hubbly bubbly has taken up space in the local hangout spots as it is now popular with young people. According to the Cambridge dictionary, a hookah is a type of pipe that brings smoke through a container of water before it is inhaled. The main parts of it include a smoke chamber, a water bowl, a pipe and a hose. A special type of tobacco is indirectly heated using coals or wood embers. It’s also known as a hookah, narghile, hubbly, shisha, maassel and goza. When one smokes the hookah, a cloud of smoke is produced after inhaling the heated tobacco and nicotine found in the flavour used. Most young people get carried away by this huge cloud hence they like vaping.

Dr Velephi Okello
The Director of Health Services in Eswatini Dr Velephi Okello shared with this publication that the hubbly bubbly is not healthy as it exposes one to several kinds of cancers which are expensive to cure. “It is not healthy, in fact the risk of vaping is even higher because you inhale more air yet a cigarette limits the amount of air you inhale. The hubbly smoke is inhaled many times, someone smoking a cigarette can inhale 10 times while someone vaping can inhale 100 times without being aware and this introduces more nicotine into the system. The flavoured nicotine is there as the flavoured substance used is dissolved nicotine which contains fruits flavour. The flavour is meant to lure young people as they know that cigarettes are strong and their smell is not pleasant as compared to the flavour, so young people are drawn to these sweet flavours otherwise it is still nicotine and is dangerous for them as it is now being prepared in liquid form,” Okello said.

Cigarettes

She also shared that the effects of vaping are not so different from cigarettes since nicotine exits in both. “The effects of vaping are similar to those of cigarettes as we are saying that if you smoke cigarettes you are inhaling tobacco which contains nicotine, so the effects of the smoke in your body produces toxins in the smoke and as well as in the water when the tobacco burns. If you continuously use these things you will be exposed to cancer as tobacco is the biggest cause of cancer according to research. It can cause lung cancer, stomach cancer and oral cancer. A very terrible cancer is the cancer of the oesophagus which blocks your veins when swallowing. We do have people with this type of cancer in Eswatini some have been treated and some died. The cancer can cause the blood veins to harden, not being flexible and you find that it leads people to suffer from strokes, heart disease because the veins in the heart also harden due to the nicotine,” the doctor said.

She added that the treatment for cancer caused by vaping is expensive in the country. “Treatment for cancer caused by vaping is not affordable in the country and the government is struggling with it because the cancer medicines also called chemotherapy which are used in Manzini and Mbabane Government Hospitals are very expensive. A single course for being examined in chemotherapy ranges around E20 000. Secondly, it’s expensive ones life because some of the cancers are not curable hence some are then transferred to South Africa (SA) to receive treatment which is also very expensive especially the radiotherapy,” shared the doctor.

Deceived

She advised that young people should not be deceived since there is nothing fancy about vaping. “Young people should not be deceived and as the Ministry of Health we are raising awareness about smoking and vaping. So the rules we had all along were only about cigarettes but we have realised that we also have to talk about vaping as it is also dangerous. Basically the Ministry of Health has a responsibility of protecting the nation when there is danger by making sure that the substances are not too available. It is painful to see young people using these things hence school going children and the youth should know that there is nothing fancy or fashionable about vaping ,they must just stop and those who have not started vaping as yet should not envy it because it will lead them into smoking for life and still get cancer while they are young and have still a long life ahead of them,” advised the doctor.

Musician Cheistar
Musician Cheistar says that she doesn’t understand why the hubbly has so much hype locally as she doesn’t love it but once tried it. “Personally I don’t love vaping, I don’t get it to be quite honest or the hype around it. I tried it once and I coughed, truly it is not for me. When I look at vaping, I am reminded of how smoking used to be legal even on a plane and today smoking areas are confined to square metre areas far from people. “This then leads me to say that vaping too is deemed ok while in the presence of other people or in offices. This for me is the same as smoking, just because it is flavoured, does not mean there is no nicotine,” Cheistar said.

Njabulo Simelane
Njabulo Simelane who is a resident DJ at Ekhayeni Chillaz and who is currently running a hubbly business at the hangout spot revealed to this publication that the hubbly is on demand and it is harmful as same as cigarettes. “I have been in the business for a year and a half and gained experience. It is a good investment coming with a number of challenges like buying worn out and damaged components. The demand is high depending on the time of the month and the marketing of the event. The higher the pull, the higher the demand. One would rent out close to 20 pieces a night to different people as they prefer smoking it as compared to cigarettes and ladies fancy it than men as it goes well with the groove and men tend to lure ladies with it,” Simelane said.

Pipes

“Truly speaking it is as harmful as smoking your regular cigarettes as it may lead to nicotine addiction and the use of same pipes and mouthpieces may result to transmission of serious infections like Tuberculosis, but we use new mouthpieces for different clients. It may also lead to smoking cigarettes in the long run. The best thing about hubbly bubbly smoking is that most users only smoke it at groove compared to smoking cigarettes which is done now and then even after meals,” added Simelane. He also shared that the flavours used contain substances that can affect the lungs. “Yes it is harmful I won’t lie ,but we all know the fact that smoking is harmful either you smoke cigarettes or any other way one prefers. The flavours we use contain a number of substances including heavy metals which can cause a huge effect on lungs and can result to cancer. It is a good investment if you’re looking up to make that extra buck on the side as it goes well with drinking and it’s a little interesting to blend with your groove routine,” shared Simelane.

MC Welz Wethu
Local vibrant MC Welz Wethu, born Welile Dlamini, says the hubbly is not addictive and she loves it. “Personally I love the hubbly, I even own one for my personal use. It has a nicer flavour and does not make one too high because it is nice and manageable as compared to other substances. I also love the fact that it’s not addictive, you can stay for weeks or months without smoking it. You usually smoke it because you want to not because you are addicted to it. However, It’s honestly not healthy I wish I could say I won’t smoke it anymore but then I can’t because I love it, but it shouldn’t be smoked every day,” Welz Wethu said.