Rise in number of shisha addicts asking for help, say specialists
Women are among the increasing numbers hooked on hookah, write Daniel Sanderson and Ruba Haza
A growing number of UAE residents are seeking help after becoming hooked on shisha, an addiction expert said.
Johanna Griffin, a specialist in Dubai, said there had been a noticeable increase in patients trying to kick the habit. They had often started smoking shisha, she said, unaware that the practice can be more dangerous than smoking cigarettes.
More women are smoking shisha after being lured in by offers of free smoking sessions, a business owner said.
“When they start it’s once or twice a week, perhaps just a social thing, then it goes to three or four times, then every day, then two or three times a day,” Ms Griffin said.
Kamal Naji quit cigarettes, then turned to shisha. He admits it has now become a part of his life. He enjoys one immediately after work and another in the evening.
“You can’t smoke cigarettes everywhere and for a smoker it becomes very annoying,” said the Egyptian, 27, a regular visitor to Al Qasimi Corniche shisha cafes in Ras Al Khaimah. “So I decided to quit smoking cigarettes and replace it with shisha.”
He said his body is now programmed to take nicotine at specific times, rather than at regular intervals throughout the day, which he credits with making him “more relaxed and focused”.
But Johanna Griffin, an addiction specialist in Dubai with more than 20 years’ experience, said Mr Naji could be one of a growing number of UAE residents unwittingly swapping one addiction for an even more damaging one.
Research suggests that in a one-hour shisha-smoking session, users may inhale the same amount of smoke as from 100 cigarettes.
Yet unlike cigarettes, the dangers of which are well known, some still see shisha as comparatively harmless or are under the false impression that it is not addictive.
Ms Griffin has had a large increase in the number of patients seeking help for shisha addiction.
“People get very addicted to shisha but they often don’t realise it’s much worse than cigarettes,” she said. “They begin to get the cravings and it’s progressive.
“When they start, it’s once or twice a week, perhaps just a social thing, then it goes to three or four times, then every day, then two or three times a day.”
Ms Griffin said that while cigarettes were labelled with health warnings, shisha was sold in attractive fruit flavours. Some used it as a way to pass time and ease boredom, she said, but quickly find themselves getting hooked.
“I’ve had quite a few patients with shisha addictions. It’s another form of escapism,” she said. “People don’t know the effects as they do with cigarettes. They don’t realise how dangerous it can be.
“It is an addictive substance. Quite often I will get people who will have two or three addictions, and one of them will be shisha.”
The dangers of shisha have been highlighted in several studies and the authorities have taken steps to discourage shisha use.
In 2016, research by New York University Abu Dhabi showed that those who smoked shisha at home were placing those who live with them at a much higher risk than if they smoked cigarettes.
Carbon monoxide levels in rooms where shisha was used were found to be five times higher than in rooms where cigarettes were smoked, while levels in rooms next to where shisha was smoked were nearly four times higher compared with rooms next to where cigarettes were smoked.
Meanwhile, the American University of Sharjah warned last year of the risk of “hookah sickness” or even seizures from smoking shisha, and that it could lead to cancer as well as potentially fatal breathing and circulation problems.
Despite this, doctors said, it was still seen as “more acceptable” than cigarettes, which were recently hit with a 100 per cent tax to deter smoking.
Reham Abdullah, 31, a Jordanian sales agent in RAK, admitted that she was hooked. Despite quitting during a period of illness, she found it difficult to resist because her friends are also shisha smokers, so she took it up again.
“I take the shisha with me if I go camping or to the park,” Ms Abdullah said. “I can’t skip a day otherwise I will feel something is missing and I start eating too much.”
While it was once seen as a social taboo for women to smoke in public, shisha is finding a new market among them, said Dalia Faroq, the manager of Aroma Cafe at Al Qasimi Corniche in RAK.
In many outlets shisha is offered to women free, in an extension of the popular “ladies night” promotions in many UAE bars.
Ms Faroq, 38, opens the shop at 10am and says that by 11am a steady stream of regulars arrive, and they often return in the evening.
“Some of our customers have their own shisha labelled with their names and used only by them,” she said. “They stay for about two hours in the morning and another two to three hours after 8pm.”
About 70 per cent of her customers are Egyptian, with 20 per cent Emiratis and the rest mixed.
“It’s very popular among women these days and many offer it free or with a discount as part of a promotion to advertise the cafe and get more customers,” Ms Faroq said.
She said many were in the habit of smoking shisha at set times and suggested they could not quit if they wanted to, or not without professional help.
“Our regular customers are always on time and they hardly miss a day, even during the weekends, unless they are out of the emirate, when I’m sure they visit another shisha cafe to fulfil their need,” Ms Faroq said.
“It’s definitely an addiction and I’m sure that smokers need help if they decide to quit. It’s not an easy thing to do by yourself, especially if you have family members or friends who smoke too.”
I can’t skip a day, otherwise I will feel something is missing and I start eating too much REHAM ABDULLAH Sales agent, Ras Al Khaimah