Antibes, Carros, Villeneuve-Loubet and Vence … Since this spring, no less than four towns in the Alpes-Maritimes have decided to restrict the consumption of hookah (or shisha) to certain well-defined areas. Already banned in all public spaces since 2008, shisha has established itself in recent years as a new way of smoking, especially among young Europeans and Americans, according to a survey by the World Health Organization * (WHO).
A health problem?
Vence is the latest municipality to have adopted a decree banning the use of hookah in certain public places. After having received numerous “complaints from users of the public highway” following “the multiplication of people who smoke hookah in public spaces”, its mayor, Loïc Dombreval says he wants “to prevent disorders and nuisances affecting good order , security, tranquility and public health in certain sectors of the city “.
This ban covers the historic center of the city, the stadium, and two public squares. The decree specifies that a fine of 17 euros is foreseen for any offending smoker, in addition to a confiscation of the material used to commit the offense. Other types of smokers (cigarettes, pipes, cigars, electronic cigarettes) are not concerned.
Already in 2014, the town of Ermont in the Val-d’Oise denounced a problem of “public health” and decided to ban shisha “in all public parks as well as areas near homes”. In a statement, its elected officials noted the same problem of “frequentation of public spaces”, in addition to invoking a “right to the preservation of air quality” for its inhabitants.
More and more followers among young people
Gathered in 2015, in Abu Dhabi, for the world conference on “Health or Tobacco”, many experts warned about the trivialization of hookah, especially among young people.
Gemma Vestal, member of theTobacco Free Initiative, a department dependent on the WHO pointed out that the consumption of shisha among “18-24 year olds, educated and urban” has been on the rise in recent years, the aromatic flavors added to tobacco offering a “softer” alternative to taste. traditional tobacco.
In barely 10 years, the proportion of water pipe smokers in the United States has thus jumped by 123%!
However, the WHO study recalls that its effects on the body are as harmful as “normal” smoking, since they include “an impact on the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system, oral activity and teeth “. According to Edouard Tursan d’Espaignet, a WHO official, they would even be much more important: “a hookah session is almost equivalent to the consumption of 20 to 30 cigarettes”.
*TobReg – Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Health Effects, Research Needs and Recommended Actions
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