Smoking 'Shisha' Is A Sure Way To The Grave – FDA To Youth

The Official responsible for Tobacco and Substances at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) Olivia Boateng has urged the youth in the country to stay away from all tobacco related substances.

FDA says the health consequences are much more grievous which causes death.

She bemoans the dangers of the use of Shisha, which has now become a lifeclass especially among the youth is a highway to the grave.

“We are telling you that there are no safe forms for tobacco use, so the shisha, the e-cigarettes, the combustible ones are all not safe, they all contain nicotine and other toxics that are very addictive and affect every part of your body,”.

Madam Olivia Boateng made this known at a sensitization workshop in Accra as a precursor to the launch of the event to commemorate the 2019 World No Tobacco Day in Ghana.

She said the Authority has started a campaign against shisha use in the country and that it is expected that the youth would carry the message to their colleagues.

She emphasized the fact that there is no benefit for tobacco use.

“The emphasis is what tobacco does to your lungs as you smoke. Even for the people we call passive smokers – those who happen to be in the presence of the people who smoke, so if you are asthmatic and you are not smoking yourself but somebody close to you is smoking, the risk of you getting the attack increases.

“It exacerbates TB and increases the risk of you getting lung cancer. So it affects every part of your body, but this year we are emphasizing on lung health. We expect you to talk to everybody else who is not here, the campaign continues till we do the main launch,” she stated.

As part of the efforts to commemorate this year’s World No-Tobacco Day (WNTD) event in Ghana, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and its collaborators, including, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Ministry of Health and the Vision for Alternative Development (VALD) – a member of the Inter Agency Committee on Tobacco Control held a pre-national launch with a sensitization walk.

On Saturday May 25, hundreds of people made up of civil society activists, public officials, students and journalists converged in front of the Madina Police station in Accra and patrolled through the streets in front of Asanka Locals, then through UPSA and finally to Presec Legon where a sensitization message was delivered to the students.

The activity was aimed at creating and raising awareness on the dangers of smoking and its negative effects on individuals and the national economy.

The main launch which is expected to climax the WNTD celebrations will be on Friday May 31, 2019 at the conference room of the FDA.

The theme for this year’s WNTD celebrations is “tobacco and lung health”.