Courtesy of en.africatime.com

Juba City Council has issued an order banning the smoking of shisha tobacco in commercial and public places.

Shisha smoking is a way of smoking tobacco, sometimes mixed with fruit or molasses sugar, through a bowl and hose or tube.

The tube ends in a mouthpiece from which the smoker inhales the smoke.

Juba City mayor, Christopher Serafino Wani, said that the order not only applies for the smokers and traders of shisha, but also the suppliers.

“The approach that we are using this time, is not only going after the people who are trading in it in terms of giving people the bottles to smoke, but also the suppliers who are the main source of where the tobacco is coming from. So we called all the traders, we explained to them the concerns of the Juba City Council.”

His Worship Serafino Wani said that Juba City Council was concerned for the long-term health effects, which are similar to those of cigarette smoking.

According to medical research, shisha tobacco contains cigarette tobacco, so like cigarettes it contains 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.