Cape Town – Hubbly bubblies are the next target in the City of Cape Town’s battle against respiratory diseases, as City Health plans to lobby for legislative clarity on the popular social smoking pipe.
Councillor Benedicta van Minnen, mayoral committee member for health, said on Tuesday that the city would push hard for definitive laws to govern the smoking of hookah pipes, which she said were considerably more dangerous than public attitude suggests.
“I will raise the issue with the national health minister to push for legal clarity on the use of hookah pipes and e-cigarettes sooner rather than later,” Van Minnen said.
“I am not necessarily pushing for a ban on the devices, because to be fair there is not definitive proof of their impact, but we do need to close the legislative vacuum where these devices are concerned.”
Earlier this year, City Health consulted the national Health Department about the legalities of smoking e-cigarettes. Now, the city is turning its attentions to hookah pipes as it seeks to lower the burden of preventable respiratory tract disease.
Hookah pipes are commonly known as hubbly bubblies, shisha, water pipes or nargile, the Arabic name. They are used for smoking flavoured tobacco, which is vaporised and passed through a water basin before being inhaled.
Popular shisha spots in Cape Town include Baghdad Café and Mesopotamia, both in Long Street, as well as Baran’s on Greenmarket Square.
Van Minnen said consultations with researchers from UCT and the University of the Western Cape had revealed that while there were no definitive studies on the harm in smoking hookah, it is undoubtedly “harmful for the health of an individual”.
The researchers also made it clear that nicotine is one of the most addictive substances, especially for young people.
“Hookah pipes are very popular in Cape Town, not just among adults, but also children because there is a perception that the flavoured tobacco is somehow not harmful,” Van Minnen said. “Tobacco is tobacco, no matter what the flavour.”
She said that in the context of Cape Town, which had high levels of respiratory diseases, such as tuberculosis, people should be aware of the strain they were placing on the healthcare system. “We need to be more mindful as a society about the burden we’re placing on the health-care system.”
Cape Argus