Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    Turki Al-Sheikh crowned "Most Influential Personality in the Last Decade" at MENA Effie Awards 2024    Saudi Arabia arrests 19,696 illegals in a week    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    GACA: 1029 complaints recorded against airlines, with least complaints in Riyadh and Buraidah airports during October    CMA plans to allow former expatriates in Saudi and other Gulf states to invest in TASI    11 killed, 23 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut    Trump picks billionaire Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary    WHO: Mpox remains an international public health emergency    2 Pakistanis arrested for promoting methamphetamine    Move to ban on establishing zoos in residential neighborhoods    Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Saudi Arabia and Japan to collaborate on training Saudi students in Manga comics Saudi Minister of Culture discusses cultural collaboration during Tokyo visit    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Shisha becoming attractive pastime among Saudi women
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 25 - 01 - 2012

Saudi women chat and smoke shisha (tobacco from a waterpipe) at a cafe in Jeddah. — Archives
JEDDAH — Although it not a common scene yet in Saud Arabia, groups of young Saudi women have been sitting together smoking shisha or ‘hubbly bubbly' (as it is commonly known).
The phenomenon is odd because even shisha cafes for men are normally found in the outskirts of the city.
A number of rest houses, individual homes and tailoring shops for women are fast become a gathering place for young girls to savor the many flavors of shisha, according to a report in Al-Hayat newspaper.
During a visit to several shops selling the tobacco called “Masil” and shisha — also known as waterpipe or narghile in the Kingdom, it was found that young girls buy shisha with several of them showing interest in the shape and color of the narghile.
World Health Organization (WHO) has recently warned that women are increasingly becoming a target of big tobacco advertising. Thus, it shouldn't be shocking to see female university students and others gathering to have a puff of shisha and to chit chat invariably to escape boredom.
Ahmad Ismail works in a restaurant that mainly caters to families. He says most of those who visit the restaurant outside meal times are young girls, especially university students. Places like his serve as an outlet for releasing the suppressed feelings of girls, he said. “They (the girls) sit for hours chatting and smoking shisha and cigarettes.” A majority of them do so only to while away their spare time, and not necessarily to satisfy their craving for smoking,” he said.
Suzan, third year university student, said she started smoking shisha when she was in secondary school. “My parents are both addictive shisha smokers and I started smoking with my mother's knowledge,” she said.
Susan isn't alone. Bank worker Noura revealed that she goes to a shisha joint daily to chat and pass time with her friends. She started smoking at the age of 26.
“I do believe that accompanying my daughters is hundred times better than leaving them to go out by themselves. I don't mind if they smoke in my presence. When they smoke in my presence I can easily control them. If I didn't, they would soon become shisha addicts,” Noura said.
Why are these women suddenly started to smoke shisha? Dr. Al-Ghamdi, a psychiatrist and director of psychology consultation center in Jeddah, said smoking is a widely spread social phenomenon in big cities and has social factors. He believes the reason for smoking can be summed up thus: To create one's own identity.
He said young men and girls want to prove themselves and mold their personality, thus they start rebelling against any authority like parents and school authorities. Teenagers need to prove themselves; this is why they imitate their friends. “When they smoke cigarettes or narghila it is to show they have become mature and independent,” he said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.