The Cafe or 'Il Ahwa' as it is known in the Arabic language is a huge and practically monumental part of the modern Arabic culture. It is common to see tables & chairs from cafes flooding on to streets and even blocking walkways and pavements.
Like the West is renowned for local bars and pubs and punters eager to get away from work worries or family worries and drink themselves half to death, the Middle-East is known for its alternative getaway.
The Ahwa sees crowds of men gather to watch football games, or play dominoes, chest, cards or chequers. And whilst it’s deemed to be a coffee house, the actual iconic image we have become accustomed to is that of a man sitting outside at midday or by night with a traditional looking waterpipe by his side bubbling away and plumes of smoke filling the atmosphere with every puff.
The different names we have become acquainted to include: Shisha, Arjilah, Tifaha…And all of those seem to hold a glorified status in Arab society, similarly as the cigarette was glorified by Hollywood films. But now with the sweeping awareness of pollution, lung cancer and passive smoking, parts of Western societies are beginning to take steps against public smokers. Laws have been put into effect to stamp out the habit.
Bans have already been implemented in a few major cosmopolitan cities and increasing the age of customers permitted to buy cigarettes is subtly being discussed. Bars, Restaurants, Offices have become smoke free zones in New York, Paris and London.
Should steps be taken to stop the glorification of smoking in the Arab world or would it be a waste of time simply because the average Arab has far too many sorrows to drown in comparison to any other global average citizen?
What should be tackled first; cigarettes or shisha?
Are we just far too behind and incapable of attempting such a broad lifestyle and communal change?
Is it sensible for Western authorities to ban smoking in public places and not be tougher on drinking?
By guest writer Sam
Comments
well..at the moment i live in london, and shisha is banned in additon 2 cigarettes in public places such as no smoking in pubs..and shisha is not allowed in closed areas for example inside cafe but only outside.this rule is therefore, for people's health and safety in london itself. its ashame really for us all. it may be unfair but cannot do anything about it. this rule existed from july 1st (the big ban)
Uh, I don't think it should be banned =/ This is a part of culture. And I don't think the sheesha in the arjeela is as harmful as the tobacco in cigarettes. I mean, arabs have been doing this forever, it's not some new age idea that sprang up and got big like cigarettes, and plus a lot of businesses are bulit upon selling arjeelas. It wwouldn't be smart at all to ban them, so, I dunno, whatever.
thx sammm..u always bring out good news 3an jad,not like some others around here..anyway i live in london and yea u pretty ryt afrah,it is very boring with out although, i have 1 at hme lol so it is cool, but now if you go to edgwar road some ppl still do shisha however outside lol which is stupid cuz sme ppl dnt want ppl watching them do it...i really dnt think it should be banned specailly in any arab countries lien it is a arabic thing dnt u think so??? i hope it doesnt be banned in arabic coutries!!
Christian pple drinking beers. Some America said Shisha is better than drinking alcohol, and some Muslims smoking shisha, rather than beers is very haram. I don’t think Shisha should not be banned. Mustly America love it in the restaurant smoking it..//
Yeah……. I guess her article is not worse , but other of her articles is boring, and not making any sense. Ymkin heya doesn’t want me3y to co7ment. He7ya betekrahna aiwey kidaan. he7ya Beti7ooley, Allah yashfeeney!!. Weya- shfee al-gameea aidaan!!!
*** [PLEASE KEEP RELIGION AWAY FROM YOUR COMMENTS, otherwise your comment in the future will be FULLY DELETED! ]***
Thanx meme_london. I appreciate your comment :o)
am sorry!
I don not think they should ban Shisha. But it is more harmeful then tobacco because 'Shisha smokers' usually smoke, more time then an usual cigarette smoker. Anyway, good article Sam.
Faysal.
Yes it's a good article Sam
Well here's my two cents
The Argileh is a harmful backward institution, according to Middle Eastern doctors one puff of an arglih is equivalent to smoking 3 packs of cigarettes.(don’t forget with the argileh there is no filter like the cigarette and there is a lot of heavy breathing involved) YES it’s that bad. Here in the ME, our youth and elders are smoking themselves to death with this very unhealthy cancer-causing tool from a bygone era. Here in Montreal (you forgot Montreal Sam, it is one of the big cosmopolitan cities) they have banned smoking altogether, thank God!
I used to come back from bars, clubs, and billiard halls with the nasty smell of smoke!
Alcohol is 100% different from cigarettes/argilhe. People in the ME are very ignorant about alcohol.
Beer , wine , and other alcohol beverages are made form a natural source, potatoes, barley and wheat, grapes so on and so forth...whereas cigrattets/argilu are made form a 100% artificial source; cigarettes are filled with 725 million chemicals..Guess what's insides of tobacco? rat poison, toilet cleaning agents, car cleaning agents,etc.
so on one hand you have potatoes and wheat and the other you have rat poison and other harmful chemicals
Alcohol in moderation actually has health benefits. so those who drink alcohol in moderation live longer healthier lives then those who completely abstain from alcohol..
alcohol goes from positive to a negative.. only when it’s abused. Whereas cigarettes go form a negative to lager negative..
In conclusion 85% of lung caner is caused by cigarettes/arglieh ...stop smoking yourselves to death..
Just for people's info, one head of a shisha (ras argeeleh) is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes.
In regard to this topic, to ban Shisha is to make it illegal anywhere. That shouldn't be the case. There should be a ban on tobacco in general in any public places. No shisha, cigarettes in cafes. Just for the sake of health and people who don't smoke.
I am just being rational here. If it was up to me, I wouldn't ban it simply because I'm a smoker. But I feel for those who aren't.
I highly doubt tobacco will be banned in any or most arabic countries, simply because the profit that these cafes generate because of shisha/tobacco is enormous.
Here in Canada, Tobacco in general has been banned in any public places + a couple of feet away from entrances. (Except for Quebec, but it will be enforced there soon)
okayy...George id agree wit everythin u hav to say minus the fact that alchol can have health benifts ?? like r u serious? .... wen u intake alchol dont u get all affected by it and go DRUNK and then drink and drive?? .... u can die by a car accident hit sum1 by the car(which means killen sum1 )wen ur drunk drivin ... or u can simply effect ur brain and thinkin y dont u protect sumthing u have( ur brain) rather than harm it ??am i rite??.. or wrong??.....
Hey Reema,
like I said the health benefits come in moderation, so if your drink more then moderate amounts then you get negative effects..
yes drinking does have an effect on the brain, but not negatively, only when you consume too much then you the negative effects kick in. impaired judgement, confused speech..
The health benefits include less risk of heart attack, better circulation of the blood and with red wine an increase of red hemoglobin cells. No serious health institution will deny these facts. The New England journal of medicine always reports on these findings..
Concerning the drunk driving..you're right this happens and innocent people die because of irresponsible drinkers..and these people are a complete minority..I was reading in an article about a couple of years ago that there are more than 100 million drinkers in the US and only 1% ABUSE alcohol, and a small fraction of this 1% get into fatalistic accidents. The thing is it's always celebrities and stars that abuse all sorts of substances ...and they give drinking a bad rep....
I know for you its's a surprise that's because in the Arab world all the countries are Muslim majorities (sorry waleg, I didn't want to bring up religion ..But it's a fact and it's not offensive) so because of that Reema, they don't teach the health benefits of alcohol in college or university
here is what is considered "moderate" for beer its 2 bottles form men and 1 bottle for women. (1 north American bottle is 750 ml) for wine, its 2 glasses for men or half a bottle and 1 glass for women. For hard liquor it's 1 glass each for both sexes..
Hey George
I guess it wasnt brought to my attention about the health reasons due to consume of Alcohol....but i searched it on wikipedia and it was said for more unhealthy reasons and one was to the cause of cancer or something.... yet i dont understand the part of the arab countries because i was taught in North America...but your numbers to how much of each beer or alcohol or w,e the case may be SHOULD a person consume doesnt happen much and people end up getting addicted and take more then what is excected and then leads to many problems in the future and you cant stop them ...
sam uw sweety, u dnt need to thank me cuz its the truth hunney....
Well said George!
who think obviously intelligent teaching about health, but I don’t think somebody cares about it, and their own health. They wont listen to you, they just drink and smoke until inside them broke.//
George I think u taught all of us from ur inspiring lecture and i agree with everytghing u said! well done!
i think shisha should not b ban bcoz if shisha would stop the peoples will start drinking beers
i think cigrette is more harmful thn sheesha thts y cigrette should b ban not sheesha
personally i drink alcohol but dont smoke.i think smoking is generally worse than drinking and in this sense i agree with everything George said.
one thing i despise is WEED.its so common amongst teenagers despite the fact that it has been banned
shame
i think it would be a rather beneficial step if smoking shisha and cigarrettes was banned from public places. i personally rather like the smell of the flavoured shishas, however i am aware of the negative effects on health.
with regards to alcohol, i think it is quite common knowledge that it increases biological age, and risks of heart disease and cancer. over long periods of time it can cause gastric ulcers and cirhosis of the liver, regardless of whether drinking is moderate or not. not to mention the obvious short-term effects. alcohol does dilate blood vessels, but this only serves to increase blood pressure over time. perhas george can be more specific in describing alcohol's positive effects.