Shisha and cancer risk

Shisha is widely used in North Africa, the Middle East, and many sub-Saharan African countries. However, this ancestral practice is not without effects on health ...

The chicha is a water pipe used to 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥. Tabamel is a mixture of 𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬, honey, and fruit pulp. According to the World Health Organization, the number of chicha smokers in the world is 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧. Moreover, a single session of chicha is considered equivalent to 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟎 𝐭𝐨 𝟑𝟎 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬 in terms of health effects.

In fact, a Vietnamese study recently published in the journal 𝐽𝐴𝑀𝐴 𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦 showed that this practice 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬. Researchers followed a cohort of over 39,000 people over a 10-year period and analyzed their tobacco consumption through smoking or shisha. The 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞 that of non-smokers. It was 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 and 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫. It should be mentioned, however, that the tobacco usually used in Vietnam is 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 than that smoked in Arab countries.

In addition, as with cigarettes, a 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 is associated with tobacco consumption via shisha. There are also risks for those affected by 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠.