Hookah consumption in Kandi commune: A deep evil

The development of the city of Kandi, capital of the Alibori department is still in its infancy. Reason, several problems slow down the emergence of the juvenile layer which guarantees development. Among these scourges is the excessive consumption of shisha..

Hookah or shisha, is a water pipe used for smoking tobacco. Tobacco can be used in the form of tabamel, mixture comprising molasses with added flavorings, which burns with coal. Inhaled smoke is comparable to that of cigarettes and potentially exposes smokers to the health effects of tobacco. Despite the risks associated with consuming shisha, the young people of Kandi make it their daily life. “I am really surprised to see young people indulge in the consumption of shisha in Kandi even though it is seriously harmful to health.” worries Grace D. Night and day the consumption of shisha intensifies in the town by young people and idleness is gaining ground. “Hookah has become the breakfast of youth” declares Clément A. before adding that taking shisha is mixed with narcotics.

The various initiatives of the political-administrative authorities to fight against this have not been successful. The intervention of the defense and security forces after the issuance of orders to prohibit the consumption of shisha did not dampen the ardor of the youth of Kandi in this practice. “After the questioning of the government by the elected representatives of the 8th legislature of the National Assembly on the question, it is therefore important and necessary that the central state also gets involved by banning the marketing of shisha in Benin. This approach will save the young generation of the Alibori department and the commune of Kandi from total loss”, recommends Alain B.

To know: a Shisha session is equivalent to at least 30 cigarettes

Lafia Kamel, doctor cardiologist calls the shisha "death at slow speed". In a radio show, he reveals that "like any substance that burns, the shisha contains nearly four thousand (4.000) toxic substances. The aromas are present more for their deceptive effects, because it's sweet and what's sweet isn't bad ; this is precisely what is misleading ". He adds that behind this deceptive effect, the consequences are “terrible and dramatic”.

According to doctor Lafia, shisha compotes several narcotics including nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar. This is to say that nothing takes the shisha away from the cigarette because it contains practically the same harmful substances. The cardiologist says that "Shisha is a drug that ends up making you addictive a bit like cigarettes" because it contains nicotine.

The doctor lists some diseases caused by shisha. “The first danger is lung cancer. Smoking is one of the causes, if not the number one cause, of lung cancer, which is normal because when you inhale the smoke, it goes in the lung. There is also heart disease which kills a person every two seconds.. The shisha also creates disorders in the brain and degenerations "

While, according to the study referred to by sociologist Aimé Tcheffa, 19% of smokers are women, doctor Kamel says it is very dangerous during pregnancy. "All of a woman's organs can be affected : stomach, liver, the kidney, but it is mainly cancers and diseases of the heart and vessels that this causes ". To believe it, a puff of shisha makes about ten cigarettes. "When you do a shisha session, that makes you between thirty and forty cigarettes consumed. This represents a danger even for smoker names when they are close to smokers ”. Pipe sharing also exposes shisha lovers to liver disease. For the sociologist Aimé Tcheffa, it is simply a new phenomenon. For its part, Léonce A, teacher, believes that the big problem is that these young people who take these narcotics do not inform themselves about the dangers they run.

Bachir ISSA