‘HUBBLY BUBBLY’ WILL KILL YOUTH - DOCTOR

EZULWINI – Hubbly bubbly!

This is a kookah used by the youth to smoke nicotine drugs, especially the Manzini youth. This information was shared by World Health Organization (WHO) Promotions Officer Dr Kevin Makadzange. He was sharing this information during the commemoration of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2022. The event was held yesterday at the Happy Valley Hotel.
Makadzange said they had been made aware, that pupils and the youth of Manzini were engaging in hookah smoking. He said he had seen some of the youth getting treated for hookah side effects. Over 10 youths have been treated. A hookah, shisha, or water pipe is a single or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vapourising and then smoking tobacco, flavoured tobacco, or sometimes cannabis, hashish, and opium.

Inhalation

The smoke passes through a water basin, often glass-based, before inhalation. The smoking through water pipes (also known as hookahs, hubbly bubbly, shisha or goza) is becoming an increasingly popular pastime with young people. It is also viewed as less harmful than smoking cigarettes. Makadzange said: “Stop that thing, it is dangerous and can kill a person, it’s way more dangerous than a normal tobacco cigarette. We are concerned because we are getting reports that in Manzini it has become the norm,” he said. He was echoed by Zandile Dlamini, the Legal Advisor and National Tobacco Control Focal Point. She said the numbers in Manzini were concerning, because it was mostly among school-going children. “We plead with the youth, hubbly bubbly is dangerous. Yes, it looks nice but it is dangerous. It may lead to cancer of the mouth, lungs and bladder, and even cause heart disease. The site adds that the charcoal burned in the pipes, often produces its own toxins, including high levels of carbon monoxide and cancer-causing chemicals. Doing hubbly bubbly is dangerous,” she said.
When reached for comment on the high usage of drugs, Manzini Regional Administrator (RA) Chief Gija said he was aware of the matter.

He, however, said he did not know it had escalated to such levels. “Drug abuse is on the rise in Manzini. I just did not know it was this bad. We need to work on an awareness programme for this issue because it is getting out of hand,” he said. Meanwhile, the ministry has revealed that tobacco costs Eswatini E684 million. This information was revealed by Senior Medical Officer Dr Siphesihle Dlamini. Dr Siphesihle said, according to studies recorded from 2017 to date, tobacco cost the Eswatini economy E684 million, equivalent to 1.1 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). According to the doctor, these annual costs include other amounts. “An amount of E64 million goes to health care expenditures, E620 million is lost in productive capacities due to premature mortality and disability as well as workplace smoking breaks,” she said.

Tobacco

In addition, she said the use of tobacco impeded development in Eswatini beyond health; multispectral engagement where it was required for effective tobacco control, and other sectors.
“Every year, tobacco use kills more than 600 emaSwati, with 66 per cent of these deaths among individuals under age 70 (10. premature death). Nearly a quarter, which is 24 per cent of lives are lost from tobacco use, this is due to exposure to second-hand smoke,” said the doctor during her presentation. When commemorating the day, Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi urged the public to join the fight to control tobacco in the country. She said for WNTD, as a ministry they joined the rest of the world in highlighting the reality that tobacco was a threat.
 “World No Tobacco Day is meant for us to raise awareness on the negative health, social, economic, and environmental impacts of tobacco productions and use,” she said. In addition, the minister said, according to the Eswatini STEPS Survey of 2014, which was a population-based survey of adults aged 15-69, the percentage of men who smoked tobacco in the country was,  at that time, 11.7 per cent, 1.2 per cent were women and 6.0 per cent overall.

Workplace

“With regard to second-hand smoke, 13.3 per cent adults are exposed to second-hand smoke at the workplace and 17.3 per cent adults are exposed to tobacco smoke at home. Women and children are more exposed to second-hand smoke,” she said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health Principal Secretary (PS), Dr Simon Zwane, said people should not hesitate to call the police when they saw someone smoking in public. He further said there was still a long way to go in trying to curb tobacco usage. Worth noting is that WNTD is commemorated around the world every year on May 31. This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what the WHO is doing to fight against the use of tobacco, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations.

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