Abraham, E.A., Egbe, C.O. and Ayo-Yusuf, O.A., 2019.
The study sought to explore the coverage of shisha use by five national newspapers in Nigeria. Between 2014 and 2018, we found 30 relevant publications about shisha. Some newspaper articles reported that shisha smoking was gaining popularity among youths, especially in tertiary institutions across the country. Similarly, some misconceptions about the safety of smoking shisha among shisha users was reported. Addiction to shisha was also reported as being so common that many shisha users were no longer satisfied with just visiting nightclubs and shisha cafes but now own the shisha paraphernalia. There were also reports that the tobacco in shisha was in some instances being replaced or mixed with other hard drugs like marijuana. Subtle advertisement of shisha lounges, which is a violation of the Nigeria National Tobacco Control Act, was also observed.The study concludes that there is a need for increased sensitization of the public through the media on the dangers of shisha smoking and other tobacco product use. There is also a need for a national survey to determine the prevalence of shisha use in Nigeria.
