The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is concerned about shisha smoking's popularity and widespread use in the country.
According to the Service, there has been a surge in tobacco smoking, particularly Shisha, which appears to be largely accepted in Ghanaian culture.
There is a myth that shishas aren't as deadly as cigarettes, which the British Heart Foundation has debunked.
According to the Foundation, an hour of shisha is the equivalent to almost 100 cigarettes. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an advisory statement in 2015 that confirmed this. "All studies to date suggest that the user will take high dosages of toxicants during a normal waterpipe usage session" (ranging from less than one to tens of cigarette equivalents).
"These toxicants have been associated to addiction, heart and lung disease, and cancer in cigarette smokers, and they can have comparable effects in waterpipe users if these toxicants are taken in significant levels," the research concluded.
Shisha tobacco traditionally comprises cigarette tobacco, which means it contains nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and heavy metals like arsenic and lead, much like cigarettes.
Consumption of the substance, according to the Ghana Health Service, is adding to the many factors that predispose Ghanaians to the deadly tuberculosis disease.
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