One in three Coast students hooked on Shisha, tests indicate

Nearly one-third of university students at the Coast are hooked on shisha, a new study has said.

Researchers says of the 380 students from three public universities enrolled in the programme, found that 29 per cent are regular shisha users.

The tests were conducted through saliva tests that detected cotinine, a biomarker for nicotine.

Shishas are waterpipes used to smoke different flavours of tobacco. Sometimes, secret ingredients include illegal drugs.

The product use was banned nationwide in 2017.

"Our findings indicate that nearly one in three university students along the Kenyan coast are active shisha users," the study says.

"Saliva testing for cotinine is a more reliable method of reporting tobacco use compared to self-reports."

The researchers, from Technical University of Mombasa, Pwani University and Kemri-Wellcome Trust, did the assessment between 2018 and 2019.

The Shisha Consumption and Presence of Cotinine in Saliva Samples among Students in Public Universities in Coastal Kenya findings were published in the Global Health, Epidemiology and Genomics journal on August 21.

In March, a Mombasa magistrate overturned the 2017 Shisha ban saying the Health Cabinet Secretary failed to regularise the Public Health (Control of Shisha) smoking rules of 2017 by forwarding them to Parliament for approval.

Smoking shisha is associated with three main detrimental health effects: heart damage, infection and cancer formation.

The study's authors emphasise the need for more stringent measures to curb its use among young people, particularly in educational institutions.

They have called for upscaling of health education campaigns and the reinforcement of the ban by relevant authorities.

The students were given a questionnaire where they reported their history of shisha use.

They gave saliva samples that were tested for cotinine, a chemical substance formed by the breakdown of nicotine in the body, indicating recent tobacco use.

"The sensitivity of those who self-reported currently using shisha was about 68 per cent," the study says.

"This means more than two-thirds of the students who claimed to use shisha were indeed positive for cotinine."

Conversely, about 26 per cent of students who denied current use tested positive, indicating that relying solely on self-reported data would have led to significant underestimation of use.

Male students were more likely to use shisha than their female counterparts, although the difference was not statistically significant. The peak age for use was between 22 and 24 years, with students in their third and fourth years of study being more likely to test positive for cotinine.

"The fourth year of study compared to the first year and reported knowledge of shisha were associated with cotinine positive," the study says.

This suggests that as students progress through their university education, they may be more exposed to or influenced by peers who use it and even become addicted.

Interestingly, the study found that students from business-related courses were more likely to use the product compared to their peers in other fields.

 The authors say this could be due to the idleness associated with lighter course loads and giving students more free time to engage in recreational activities such as smoking.

The research also identified a link between shisha use and students' socioeconomic status, with those receiving a moderate monthly stipend being more likely to smoke.

The study's findings come as a wake-up call to public health authorities, given the deceptive marketing practices of shisha manufacturers.

"Despite knowing the negative health effects of nicotine, the participants were not deterred from consuming shisha," the authors say, pointing to the need for more effective health education campaigns to counter misinformation.

They say their study underscores the urgency for comprehensive and targeted interventions to protect young people from the harmful effects of tobacco.

In June, the Kenya Tobacco Control and Health Alliance (KETCA) said the government should remove from the market shisha products until the country has a proper legal framework to control them.

“This crisis underscores the urgent need to protect Kenyan children and youth from the aggressive tactics of the tobacco industry,” said Joel Gitali, the chairman of Ketca.

Ketca is the umbrella agency for all organisations involved in tobacco control in the country.

Data from the Tobacco and Drugs Survey of Adolescents in Schools 2022 conducted by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse, showed that 3.2 per cent of youths (15-24 years) currently use tobacco products.

“Once they get addicted, these youths represent a lifetime of profits to the industry, which is aggressively recruiting more,” Gitali said.