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Dr Kadhem Al Hawaji has been working on an anti-smoking campaign and planned tobacco controls for nearly a year now.
He was a consultant family physician and deputy chief of the health education section with the Ministry of Health.
He believes there is still much to be done in helping to save lives and to prevent young people from starting the habit.
He said: "Some people believe that sheesha does not contain tobacco, which is a false belief. If you actually consider the amount of tobacco in sheesha, you will come to realise that there is more in the 'hubbly' than there is in a cigarette.
"Plus, people spend more time smoking sheesha than cigarettes. A cigarette is over in a few minutes but with sheesha people go for more than one sitting and don't forget they change the tobacco a couple of times too.
"It has been estimated that smoking sheesha for 20 minutes is like smoking 100 cigarettes. Another fact that people aren't aware of is that in addition to the estimated 4,000 chemicals used in tobacco, more chemicals are released once the coal is burned. There is an excess of carbon monoxide being released at that stage which is truly harmful to the individual.
"The aluminum also releases more gases once burned. The Mouasil (containing glycerin, black honey and extracted fruit flavour) may also be harmful. When the glycerin is burned during the process of smoking, it produces a chemical substance called acrolein. This substance can cause cancer of the urinary tract and bladder.
"Another sheesha fact to think of is that the pipe causes more smoke to fill up your lungs. Plus the water does not absorb most of the chemicals. If it really did absorb nicotine then smokers wouldn't feel any affect from it. But they do, hence there is no absorption.
"Also, the sheesha apparatus tends to be used by more than one individual, sometimes within hours of each other. This can transmit diseases, particularly tuberculosis. Aluminum or plastic may be used when smoking the pipe but that does not make a difference. The disease can be transmitted through the pipe. The pipe must be sterilised to kill any germs. Hepatitis C is also dangerous and can be transmitted through smoking sheesha.
"There was a coffee shop in Cairo that transmitted TB to all the smokers that were there one day.
"Finally, with sheesha it is quite easy to add other substances such as hashish which isn't detected due to the Mouasil. Usually drug addicts start by smoking cigarettes and then with time they want to try more and more until they move into drugs. These are the facts of smoking sheesha."
A Ministerial Decree, number 83, was issued by the municipality in 2006 after a discussion between the Ministry of Health, Interiors, Municipality and Trade. Conditions were set and immediately implemented to begin the anti-smoking campaign, be it for cigarettes or sheesha.
Dr Al Hawaji said: "The Ministry of Health set conditions revolving around health obviously. Smoking sheesha at cafŽs comes at a price. You must publicise that your cafŽ serves sheesha so that families are aware of the risk. Also the cafŽs must be properly ventilated and the sheesha must be separated from the cooking and serving stations.
"Anyone below 18 is not allowed to sit in the sheesha smoking section, even if they are sitting with their parents or adults."
Dr Al Hawaji also told GulfWeekly there are plans to ban sheesha use in commercial malls. But he said: "The existing sheesha cafŽs in malls can still serve it since they were there before the rule was made. They can continue as long as they implement the regulations set by the Ministry of Health.
"Even sheesha cafŽs opening on commercial roads need to abide by the rules and should be not less than 200 metres away from a residential area."
As for the issue with the corniche, Dr Al Hawaji believes that the municipality wouldn't intentially ban sheesha as it is an open space and great for tourism.
He added: "Sheesha, although not good for your health, is quite popular during Ramadan. The hotels tend to have tents serving sheesha and they constantly ask us for permission. We are not banning sheesha in the tents as long as they abide by certain rules. The same conditions applied in a cafŽ should be implemented in the tents by adding a tent for non-smokers. If the tent is open and has good ventilation then it shouldn't be a problem. And, they should not give sheesha to minors."
Abdul Majeed Al Sebea'a, chairman of the technical committee in the Manama Municipality, shed some light on the corniche sheesha controversy.
He said: "The staff in the municipality made a mistake when they issued the law of banning sheesha on the corniche.
"When news got to the board members of the municipality we rectified the matter and came up with a law that works for all parties involved. The ban on sheesha at the corniche was ridiculous as the corniche itself promotes tourism.
"The council's decision will allow sheesha in tourist and commercial areas as long as the cafes are no less than 200 metres away from residential areas, hotels, hospitals and schools. The decision is unanimous and sheesha may continue as long as they follow the rules and regulations of the Ministry of Health.
"Sheesha is extremely popular especially during Ramadan and it is allowed in tents but once again under certain conditions. Hotels can have sheesha as long as they keep true to the regulations.
"We understand that sheesha is well-liked because it helps tourism so we will not ban it completely from the kingdom. We just want people to be aware of the health hazards that come with it.
"If it was up to me, then we wouldn't have sheesha in Bahrain, but I agree with the decision and support it.
"An anti-smoking campaign will be held either at the end of September or early October that will focus on smoking sheesha and cigarettes."
