As part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle, it’s important to relax, catch up with friends, eat good food and – provided it’s only now and then – smoke a little shisha, right? Wrong.
As the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day falls on May 31, the effects of smoking shisha have been brought under the spotlight, and with a variety of cancers, not to mention cardiovascular disease, impaired mental health, strokes and infertility just some of the dangers associated with the pastime, its rising popularity is a cause for great concern.
Gemma Vestal, legal officer and scientist for the World Health Organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative, says erroneous beliefs and a lack of awareness of the health risks have prevented people from stubbing out the habit.
“Water-pipe use is largely unregulated. Its products and venues are often exempt from tobacco-control policies, and where policies do exist, especially in the developing world, the lack of enforcement renders water-pipe-related policies ineffective,” she says.
UAE regulations are toughening up, however, with Federal Law No 15 of 2009 requiring shisha cafe owners to have a permit to sell tobacco or related products, and a sign at the front of the premises stating that customers younger than 18 are banned. The legislation also states that the distance between cafes and residences, kindergartens, schools and institutes should “not be less than 150 metres” and the distance between the shop and places of worship should “not be less than 100 metres”. Furthermore, the area occupied by each smoker must be at least two square metres.
The law has introduced much-needed tobacco control to the UAE while also raising awareness of the effects of smoking shisha, which even today are widely misunderstood.
“Misconceptions about the less-harmful nature of water pipes are widespread and reinforced by marketing tools,” Vestal says.
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#healthyliving magazine: Your guide to the Water Issue
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The mistaken belief that shisha smoke is filtered as it is drawn through water and therefore less harmful than cigarette smoking is widespread, and contributes to its growing popularity and acceptability. In reality, shisha pipes are thought to be 72 times more toxic than cigarettes because they release much higher levels of arsenic, cobalt, lead, nickel and other harmful substances into the air.
Vestal also claims that water-pipe products are made more attractive by the addition of maassel, or sweet flavours.
“Circumstantial evidence suggests a temporal link between the production of maassel at the beginning of the 1990s and the surge in the number of water-pipe smokers in the Middle East,” she says.
“Maassel industrialisation and commercialisation, and its increased availability and variety made it appealing to young people, paving the way for mass marketing through the internet, and simplified water-pipe preparation.”
Research into the effects of shisha on young people is limited, in particular on children who smoke passively in the presence of parents who smoke.
The results of a study in Spain, however, revealed that children exposed to tobacco smoke at home are up to three times more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than unexposed kids.
Researchers found that the association was stronger for children with one or more hours of second-hand smoke exposure every day. The results held even after the researchers took into account a parent’s mental health and other factors that could lead to ADHD.
Alicia Padron, one of the study’s authors and a researcher at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida, says: “We showed a significant and substantial dose-response association between second-hand smoke exposure in the home and a higher frequency of global mental problems.”
While the study was based on cigarette smoke, Vestal says its results can be applied to water-pipe tobacco smoke, too.
“The results are not surprising,” she says. “Since shisha smoke contains nicotine and toxicants found in cigarettes, studies on the health effects of second-hand cigarette smoke also apply to children exposed to water-pipe smoke.
“Second-hand water-pipe smoke poses a serious threat to adolescents and foetuses. Pregnant women who smoke shisha expose their unborn child to health risks associated with water-pipe smoke. It also increases exposure of non-smokers to nicotine and a number of toxicants. These bystanders often include children,” she says.
Terry Gordon, a professor from New York University School of Medicine, and his colleague Michael Weitzman have been studying the effect of water-pipe smoking on indoor air quality in UAE homes. They collected air samples from 33 Dubai residences before, during and after shisha smoking had taken place inside.
“Our study clearly demonstrated that indoor air quality was worse in UAE homes where water pipes were smoked in comparison with homes where only cigarettes were smoked or homes where no smoking was conducted,” he says.
“Rooms where water pipes were smoked contained high levels of particulate matter and black carbon and these levels were higher than those found in rooms where only cigarettes were smoked.”
Worryingly, Gordon found the levels in some instances to be as high as those found in shisha cafes.
“Although few countries have indoor regulatory standards for air quality, the levels found in this study are likely to be sufficiently high to have negative consequences for the health of children and adults in these homes,” he concludes.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The%20specs
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Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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%3Cp%3EMain%20Event%0D%3A%20Catchweight%20165lb%0D%3Cbr%3EMartun%20Mezhulmyan%20(ARM)%20v%20Acoidan%20Duque%20(ESP)%0D%3Cbr%3ECo-Main%20Event%0D%3A%20Bantamweight%0D%3Cbr%3EFelipe%20Pereira%20(BRA)%20v%20Azamat%20Kerefov%20(RUS)%0D%3Cbr%3EMiddleweight%0D%3Cbr%3EMohamad%20Osseili%20(LEB)%20v%20Amir%20Fazli%20(IRN)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20161%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3EZhu%20Rong%20(CHI)%20vs.%20Felipe%20Maia%20(BRA)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20176%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3EHandesson%20Ferreira%20(BRA)%20vs.%20Ion%20Surdu%20(MDA)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20168%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3EArtur%20Zaynukov%20(RUS)%20v%20Sargis%20Vardanyan%20(ARM)%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%0D%3Cbr%3EIlkhom%20Nazimov%20(UZB)%20v%20Khazar%20Rustamov%20(AZE)%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%0D%3Cbr%3EJalal%20Al%20Daaja%20(JOR)%20v%20Mark%20Alcoba%20(PHI)%0D%3Cbr%3ELightweight%0D%3Cbr%3EJakhongir%20Jumaev%20(UZB)%20v%20Dylan%20Salvador%20(FRA)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20143%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3EHikaru%20Yoshino%20(JPN)%20v%20Djamal%20Rustem%20(TUR)%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%0D%3Cbr%3EJavohir%20Imamov%20(UZB)%20v%20Ulan%20Tamgabaev%20(KAZ)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20120%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3ELarissa%20Carvalho%20(BRA)%20v%20Elin%20Oberg%20(SWE)%0D%3Cbr%3ELightweight%0D%3Cbr%3EHussein%20Salem%20(IRQ)%20v%20Arlan%20Faurillo%20(PHI)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
