Increasing shisha use 'concerning' - council

The increasing popularity of smoking shisha has become a health concern in Bradford, councillors have been told.

There are 26 shisha bars in the district and the practice had become more popular among young people, Bradford Council's health and social care scrutiny committee heard.

But public health officials said they feared its use would lead to "increased tobacco addiction and related health issues".

They said many people did not realise smoking shisha could be as harmful as cigarettes and called for more research into the impact on communities in the city.

Shisha is an Egyptian word for water pipe or hookah. Fruit flavoured tobacco is burnt on top of lit charcoal and the smoke is then sucked through the pipe.

Councillors were told that because it differs from regular smoking, many users do not see it as being as harmful when it can, in fact, cause many similar health problems to directly smoking tobacco.

"The smoke from shisha contains harmful toxins, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals, and carcinogens, which are detrimental to health," a report by health officials said.

"Shisha products often lack proper health warnings and content information, leading to a false sense of security among users.

"The social nature of shisha smoking also means that individuals may consume large amounts of smoke over extended periods, increasing exposure to harmful substances."

Councillors were told that shisha bars did not require a licence or specific planning permission - but that this could change under forthcoming legislation.

Similarly to pubs and bars, councils would then have the power to revoke the licence of any shisha lounge that broke its licence conditions, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Members were then told the upcoming changes to legislation would help to regulate shisha bars and could be a "game changer", but there was a risk its use could move to "illegal spaces".

Mikhail Foster, a public health officer at the council, said: "We need to look at how we better convey the harms.

"A challenge we see is people don't recognise shisha use as smoking – they don't see it as a concern."

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