Cameroon bans sale and use of shisha and its products

Faced with the growth in the use of shisha among young people, the Cameroonian authorities, like those of other African countries, have chosen to ban it. Also called narguilé, water pipe or hookah, the use of shisha is so far booming in Cameroon, with 46% young people aged 15 to 20 having already tried it in this country according to the Ministry of Public Health.

This situation led the Minister of Territorial Administration in February 2022 to ban the importation, sale, promotion and consumption of shisha to protect the health of the population, with many Cameroonians considering this consumption less dangerous than that of classic cigarettes.[1].

Hookah Banned in Several African Countries

Cameroon thus joins, after Kenya, Gambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Senegal, the list of African countries which have taken measures to ban shisha. Kenya[2] and Sudan have, however, distinguished themselves on this issue by repeatedly returning to this ban. In Burkina Faso, the city of Ouagadougou has also banned the consumption of shisha.

The question of the actual application of this measure in Cameroon is however raised, the practice of shisha being very popular and many shisha bars having opened in recent years[3].

Similar damage to smoking

Globally, hookah consumption, traditionally very established in the Middle East and North Africa, has increased significantly since the 2000s on several continents, particularly in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. An advisory note from the World Health Organization (WHO), completed in 2015, identified the main health risks of hookah consumption, which overlap those of tobacco: presence of numerous toxic particles, damage to the respiratory tract, cardiovascular system, teeth and oral cavity, harmfulness of second-hand smoke, risk of high addiction[4]. Smoking a shisha for one hour would thus correspond to absorbing the equivalent of the smoke from 100 cigarettes. This report points out in particular that several articles (5, 6 and 8 to 16) of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) can be directly applied to regulate the trade and use of shisha. The role of bridge between shisha and other forms of smoked tobacco is also highlighted.

This gateway effect to smoked tobacco is particularly feared among adolescents who have not yet tried cigarettes. The erroneous representations of the lesser toxicity of shisha in fact lead a significant number of adolescents to turn first to this form of smoking. In France, a recent OFDT study on the consumption of 3rd grade students^th reveals that while hookah experimentation overall decreased from 26.2% to 20% between 2018 and 2021, exclusive hookah experimentation remained constant (6.2%) during this period[5]. This study also specifies that 69.3% of 3rd grade students^th having experimented with shisha have also experimented with cigarettes. The authors therefore call for renewed vigilance regarding the exclusive use of shisha and, more generally, regarding this product.

Keywords: Cameroon, shisha, Africa, gateway effect, ban, young people

©Generation Without Tobacco

MF

[1] Cameroon Bans Shisha Smoking In Bars, Others, Sahara Reporters, published March 14, 2022, accessed March 17, 2022.

[2] Chronology of shisha ban in Kenya, Kenya tobacco control Alliance (KETCA), presentation document, 2019, 12 p.

[3] Cameroon: government bans “chicha”, Koaci, published March 14, 2022, accessed March 17, 2022.

[4] Waterpipe tobacco smoking: health effects, research needs and recommended actions for regulators, 2nd edition, WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product regulation, 2015, 66 p.

[5] Spilka S, Philippon A, Le Nézet O, Janssen E, Brissot A, Eroukmanoff V, Godeau E, Use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis among 3rd grade students in 2021, OFDT, Trends No. 148, December 2021.