• The FDA boss has expressed worry about the high patronage of shisha among young people

• She made this known during this year's marking of World No Tobacco Day

• A report also indicated that female adults are using tobacco more than their male counterparts

There is not proof that smoking of water-pipe tobacco (shisha), and electronic cigarettes, are safer compared to the regular cigarette sticks, explains Mrs. Delese Mimi Darko, the FDA boss.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), shisha, also known as hookah, ( a type of tobacco that is usually fruit-flavoured, and smoked through a glass-bottomed pipe filled with water) rather poses higher risks to a person’s body.

“Do you know that an hour’s session of shisha amounts to smoking 100 to 200 sticks of cigarette?

“It really saddens my heart to see well known people in society recklessly smoke shisha on social media platforms just to be in the trends. “What do we think we are teaching our future generation?

“As role models, we all need to support and play our role to fight this global tobacco disease pandemic,” she said, reports graphic.com.gh.

Shisha — also known as hookah — is tobacco that is usually fruit-flavoured, and smoked through a glass-bottomed pipe filled with water.

Mrs. Delese Mimi Darko made this known when she was speaking at the national commemoration of the 34th World No Tobacco Day at Nsawam in the Eastern Region.

As part of the celebration, the FDA organized a variety of activities to sensitize the public against the use of tobacco and its associated products, including shisha and electronic cigarettes.

Globally, No Tobacco Day is marked on May 31 every year by the World Health Organization and its global partners to highlight the harmful and deadly effects of using tobacco and to discourage its use among people.

The celebration for this year was on the theme, “Commit to Win”.

In Ghana, the Nsawam activity was to mark the start of a year-long campaign by the regulatory agency to support people working at quitting smoking.

The campaign, which dovetails into the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Digital Access Initiative for Quitting Tobacco project, will offer enabling access to cessation services through referrals and equipping tobacco users with the necessary information to dissuade them from the act.

As part of the activities for this year’s global marking of the day, the leadership and staff of the FDA visited the Nsawam Market, the main lorry park and some smoking bays, and boarded passenger buses to interact with the people on the dangers of smoking and using tobacco in any shape or form, while posting flyers at vantage points to create awareness, the report said.

Concerned about the rising trend of tobacco use now than it used to be, Mrs Delese Darko said an estimated 75 men died every week from smoking cigarette and other tobacco products in Ghana, with over 807,600 people engaged in the habit.

She said this worrying trend, according to the latest Ghana Youth Tobacco Survey, also indicated that the figures are among young female adults than males.