Islamabad: The Pakistani government is set to impose a complete ban on the commercial use of “shisha” to protect the health of the country’s youth, officials said on Tuesday.

According to an official of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, after imposing the ban, there would be complete restriction on sale of such tobacco item in cafés and shops in the markets.

He said there would be a complete ban on the opening of any shisha centre or cafe in hotels, markets or public places, while its sale would also be banned in bazaars.

The official said a notification in this regard would be issued soon by the health ministry, in accordance with the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance 2002.

He said the decision was taken to discourage the country’s youth from indulging in the unhealthy practice of shisha smoking, which badly affects their health.

He said the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination had also recommended to impose ban on shisha smoking.

Using shisha smoke poses a serious potential health hazard to smokers and others exposed to the smoke, he added.

The second hand smoke from shisha poses a serious risk for non-smokers, as it contains smoke not only from the tobacco but also from the heat source.

Dr Wasim Khawaja from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said shisha was the flavoured tobacco used in smoking process using water pipes.

He added the process of smoking shisha started when tobacco was soaked on fruits shavings such as apple, grapes and strawberries.

He said, due to the mode of shisha smoking including frequency of puffing, depth of inhalation, and length of the smoking session, shisha smokers may absorb higher concentrations of the toxins found in cigarette smoke, increasing the hazard to the body.

He said that the charcoal used to heat tobacco in the shisha pipes increases the health risks.

Even after it has passed through water, the smoke produced by a shisha contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals, and cancer-causing chemicals, he added

He said shisha tobacco and smoke contain numerous toxic substances known to cause lung, bladder, and oral cancers.

A typical one-hour session of shisha smoking exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette.

Dr Wasim said irritation from exposure to tobacco juices increases the risk of developing oral cancers.

The irritation by tobacco juice products is likely to be greater among shisha smokers than among pipe or cigar smokers as shisha smoking is typically practised more often and for longer periods of time.

He said that shisha smoking among pregnant mothers is risky to the baby. Babies born to women who smoked one or more water pipes a day during pregnancy have lower birth weights than babies born to non-smokers and are at an increased risk for respiratory diseases.

He said that shisha smoking deliver almost the same amount of nicotine as cigarettes do, leading to nicotine addiction.