Authorities in Central Equatoria State’s Terekeka County have banned the use of shisha, a tobacco product consumed through a water pipe, also known as a hookah, narghile, or hubble-bubble.
Speaking on Thursday after confiscating several shisha containers from the business operators, County Commissioner George Elia Wani, said the decision came after authorities noticed that the service providers were mixing the tobacco with opium.
Wani said smoking shisha in Terekeka had become commonplace even among young people, including women and girls.
“We have discovered that at night, they (smokers) mixed opium and pretended to smoke shisha. This is how they are smoking opium these days, unlike in the past,” he said.
We also noticed women and young girls have been incorporated in the habit that has extended to the bomas (homesteads), Wani said.
Shisia is believed to contain high levels of toxic compounds, including tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens).
Furthermore, the practice is linked to lung and oral cancers, heart disease, and other serious illnesses.
The Commissioner said he was sure some government officials were partaking of shisha, and directed the local chiefs to address the issue before it gets out of hand.
The Commissioner warned that anyone caught in the act would face the law.