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Shisha importers count losses in wake of Mailu ban

shisha

A young man smokes shisha at a bar on December 25, 2017. Photo | BENSON MOMANYI | NMG

Traders shipping shisha into the country are decrying massive losses following a government ban yesterday even as healthcare experts lauded the move.

Some of the importers, who spoke to Nation on condition of anonymity, say they still had massive stocks of shisha in their godowns that will go to waste due to the State's move.

“We don’t know where to take this stuff. Health CS Cleopa Mailu should have consulted us. This is political...Why can’t they ban tobacco yet it is also harmful?” wondered a coast-based businessman Friday.

He says he has stored his stock in a private area as he ponders his next move.

“I don’t know what might happen but I am definitely clearing the stuff to avoid police harassment,” he added.

READ: Kenya bans shisha smoking

ALSO READ: Rwanda bans shisha smoking

Laud move

However, health officials say the government's move will save hundreds of young lives at the Coast where shisha smoking is commonplace.

“This is a step in the right direction. We laud the Ministry of Health for banning shisha, which has negative effects on users. It causes addiction especially among youths,” Kenya Medical Practitioners and Pharmacists Union deputy secretary general Chibanzi Mwachonda said Friday.

According to the Kenya Tobacco Control Board, Central, Eastern, Mombasa and Nairobi regions lead with the highest prevalence of smokers.

“Shisha is dangerous and it is not an alternative to cigarettes. Out of the two million smokers in the country, 600,000 are based in Mombasa,” said board member Dr Somba Kivunga.

“All these people are smoking themselves to the grave. It is a concern for us because we have other entry points such as the Indian Ocean,” he added.

'Job losses'

However, some businessmen claim the Ministry of Health directive will lead to job losses at some establishments.

“Shisha business is lucrative, it has created jobs to many youths in Mombasa but I am afraid the ban will create a huge impact. Most restaurants and hotels in Mombasa hook customers using shisha. Most shisha dens will be shut down,” a Coast-based businessman today.

READ: Popular club bemoans ban of lucrative shisha

Despite this, some shisha patrons have also called on the banning of the tobacco product due to its harmfulness.

A regular shisha patron, Abdulhalim Basadiq, 30, said although the ban was good, it's motive was suspicious.

Mr Basadiq said he spends more than Sh700 for a single puff session.

"There is no difference between shisha and cigarettes. They are all harmful,” he says.

In a gazette notice, Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu banned the importation, manufacture, advertising and sale of shisha in the country.

The CS warned that anyone found contravening the rule would be "liable to a fine not exceeding Sh50,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both."

Child smokers

Last month, Mombasa County formed a multi-sectoral taskforce comprising officials from public health, inspectorate and school health inspection unit to probe the alarming rate at which school children have picked up smoking shisha and cigarettes.

“Smoking starts at a very young age...it starts from schools and homes,” said Mombasa chief health officer Dr Khadija Shikely.

“It is dangerous for passive smokers. Men are the majority of smokers but many women are coming up. We also have bhang challenges in Mombasa,” she added.

During the recent Kenya Cardiac Society’s Annual Scientific Conference at Whitesands Beach Hotel in Mombasa, Professor Gerald Yonga said new smokers are found in schools and colleges and amongst educated young women.