Confiscated shisha and its ingredients.

The Mayor of Aweil Municipality in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State imposed a ban on shisha smoking and sale in the state capital.

Dut Mou Majok also launched a crackdown on shops where the drug is smoked or sold.

The ban also applies to suppliers of shisha ingredients.

Majok said the crackdown is due to growing health and security concerns related to the consumption of the drug. The town official warns violators of punitive measures.

“Shisha is harmful, and those who are smoking it are sharing the same pipe and it can transmit the same sickness from one to another,” Majok said.

“That’s why we banned Shisha and nobody can do that in Aweil town here unless they move to another place and do it there, because shisha is not the only bussiness that people can do here.”

“There’s a lot of fields of business people can do here, am always touring different areas at evening, especially at Ayuang residential area, I found a lot of people are smoking Shisha. Just to tell you that Shisha is banned.”

The state Police Commissioner, Major General Philip Madut Tong Ajongo has backed the order.

“We are only implementing the order of banning of smoking of Shisha, we are warning those in the restaurant any quantity that we found with you, we will take to the Aweil Municipality and then Municipality has punishment for you,” he said.

Shisha smoking is increasingly popular among young people in South Sudan.

According to medical research, shisha tobacco contains tobacco, which has nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and heavy metals, such as arsenic and lead.

As a result, shisha smokers are at risk of the same kinds of diseases as cigarette smokers, such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and problems during pregnancy.