Shisha Smoking—Behaviour With Health and Social Implications, Affecting All Ages Publisher



Kanmodi KK^{1, 2, 3} ; Buowari DY⁴ ; Kelishadi R⁵ Show Affiliations
Source: Integrated Science Published:2022

Abstract

Different behaviours are developed over time; some are learnt from childhood while some are learnt at adulthood. Some of these behaviours may or may not have adverse effects on our health. While some behaviour have adverse health effects, some people still practice it due to social influence. A popular example of a harmful social behaviour is shisha smoking. Shisha smoke contains so many harmful substances which can cut human life short. Most, if not all, of the scientific research works ever conducted on shisha were focused on young people; little to no attention on the exploration of shisha smoking practices (or exposures to shisha smoke) among people who are in the extreme ages (i.e. foetus and the elderly). Meanwhile, in reality, all are prone to the hazards associated with exposures to shisha smoke. In this chapter, we described how shisha works, and went further to discuss the historical and epidemiological aspects, socio-legal issues, and medical issues on shisha. We also pointed out the health implications of shisha on those in the extreme ages. Importantly, the existing policies, laws, and scientific information on shisha are largely inadequate. We recommended important strategies that can be effectively used to reduce the burden of shisha smoking across all ages. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.