Hookahs are waterpipes that are used to smoke specially made tobacco mixtures that come in a wide variety of flavors. Hookah smoking is popular and common in many countries around the world, including African countries. researches have indicated that the number of hookah smokers is in a continuous increasing amongst youth in particular, and this proportion has reached women. The percentage of women who smoke hookah in Africa continues to increase, and in this article, we will discuss this phenomenon and its causes and consequences for women’s health. This article will include the following main points:

• Percentage of women who smoke shisha in Africa
• The causes for increasing hookah smoking among women in Africa
• The dangers of smoking hookah for women

Percentage of women who smoke shisha in Africa

The proportion of women smoking shisha in Africa continues is continuing to increase, given the increasing number of women who tend to smoking shisha.

There are insufficient and accurate statistics, so, we expect the proportion of women smokers of shisha in Africa by the end of 2023 to reach about 80%. According to market data in terms of supply and demand, based on our actual market views and the volume of demand for molasses products

The causes for increasing hookah smoking among women in Africa

The reasons for the increase in hookah smoking among women in Africa are a lot of reasons, some of which we will mention:

• Women’s social emancipation in Africa:

it is socially acceptable to mix between women and men, and women have been engaged in activities that were previously exclusive to men.

• High poverty:

Poverty is a major cause of high smoking rates worldwide. And that   in turn to rise negative social phenomena in societies.

• Lack of awareness:

 Lack of awareness among women in particular about the risks of smoking can increase the number of women smokers of shisha and other smoking materials.

• Influenced by media:

 Women are affected by images and vedios on social media that Increase women desire to smoke hookah, as they portray it in a way that links it to elegance, sophistication and pleasure.

• Hookah availability and accessibility:

 Shisha is popular and common in African countries and available there at an appropriate price which encourages women to smoke it.

• Promotion and marketing:

 The promotion and marketing of hookah sometimes targets the audience of women to attract them and increase their desire to smoke hookah, that in turn to increase the number of women who smoke.

• Economic factors:

 In many African countries, shisha is a cheaper alternative than smoking cigarettes, increasing the proportion of women who smoke shisha.

Short-term dangers of hookah smoking for women

There are potential risks as a result of women’s short-term smoking of shisha, including:

• Increased heart rate.
• High blood pressure
• Lack of fitness
• The effect on a woman’s aesthetic appearance, where smoking affects the appearance of the teeth leads to its yellowing, and produces a stench of the mouth.
• First carbon oxide poisoning from burning tobacco during smoking hookah.

Long-term dangers of hookah smoking for women

Smoking hookah may pose a threat to women’s health. We will mention the most important health risks to women who smoke hookah and other means of smoking:

• Lung cancer:

 women who smoke hookah are more likely to be infected with lung cancer than women who do not smoke

• Respiratory diseases:

hookah increases the likelihood of respiratory diseases in women who smoke hookah such as lung infections and bronchial infections

• Cardiovascular:

 smoking hookah in women may cause strokes and heart attacks.

• Pregnancy and lactation:

smoking shisha among women lead to a risk to pregnant mothers’ health that may cause embryo abortions or the birth of incomplete growth embryos.

How to prevent hookah smoking among women

• Raising awareness:

 Women in Africa should be well informed about smoking dangers in general and be made aware of the risks to health.

• Poverty reduction:

Action must be taken to improve economic conditions in Africa especially, in all parts of the world, in order to reduce poverty, which increases women’s rates of smoking shisha.

• Policies and legislation:

States can take decisions to restrict smoking of shisha in public places to reduce exposure.

• Reducing promotions:

This in turn reduces women’s exposure to external incentives such as advertising, marketing and promotion that encourage smoking shisha.

• Educating women well:

 Raising women’s awareness and educating them about their public health and their body health makes them more aware of the risks to their health of smoking, thereby limiting increased smoking among women.

• Orientation towards health alternatives:

 It is possible to raise women’s awareness and orient them towards right and healthy alternatives to hookah smoking and others such as exercising and participating in community activities or reading, for example.

• Improving women’s standard of living:

This, in turn, leads to women going out of smoking.

• Providing services to help women quit smoking:

 Women must be supported psychologically and morally to help them quit smoking, such as providing medicines to need or providing psychological support to them.

Smoking shisha among women in Africa is a growing phenomenon, with its causes, reflections and effects on women and society. We hope that we have explained the risks and causes of increased smoking among women in Africa.

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