Tell any Saudi that he should stop smoking shisha and you are likely to receive a look as if you had just arrived from Mars. Even as municipalities attempt to impose restrictions on where and until what time a shisha establishment may operate, the concern is more about containing a public nuisance, i.e. noise, than the deleterious effects of smoking shisha itself. A new study published by The Center for Tobacco Control Research in Britain may contribute to changing that. The study has found that a half-hour shisha session exposes an individual to carbon monoxide levels equivalent at least to smoking four or five cigarettes. A session was defined as smoking 10mg of fruit tobacco for 30 minutes. This varies, of course, with the smoker as some shisha inhalers ingest more than others. A few researchers have termed the report “scaremongering” but most scientists who consider smoking shisha seriously say there can be little doubt that shisha smoke, just like tobacco smoke, can increase substantially the risk of cancer and other lung and heart diseases. Nicotine is nicotine whether it is ingested via cigarettes or shisha. “Moderation in all things” is a phrase first coined by the Roman comic dramatist Terence, who lived in the 2nd century BCE. The Roman Empire was not known for its moderation but the wisdom of moderating especially one's unhealthy habits continues to be valid even today. Spending every evening smoking shisha while inhaling second-hand smoke with every breath is clearly putting one's health in danger. A worldwide movement to ban smoking in most enclosed public spaces may seem to some to be an example of the nanny state, but the science such bans are based upon is solid. The pleasures of shisha have been with us for centuries and they are likely to be available for some time to come. Just like many other pleasures, however, there is a significant downside to overindulgence. With the asceticism of Ramadan with us for a month, it is a good time to engage in some self-examination. If it is possible to dispose of our worst habits from dawn to dusk, why not just do away with them completely? We would all be healthier for it. __
