ASSESSMENT OF THE EMERGING TREND OF SHISHA SMOKING IN ACCRA METROPOLIS

ABSTRACT

Background Water pipe (shisha) smoking is gaining popularity worldwide, but no research has been undertaken to determine the drawers and facilitating factors in Ghana. This dissertation was aimed at assessing the characteristics of the shisha smoking population in selected areas in the Accra Metropolis and the factors influencing their choice of shisha. Methodology This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 210 participants between the ages of 18 – 59, who had smoked shisha in the last 30 days in the Accra Metropolis. The snowball sampling technique was employed to select participants. Quantitative data obtained was entered into the STATA software package Version 13, and analyzed using frequencies, percentages, logistic regression, chi2 and Kruskal-Wallis’ test. Results: Shisha smoking was initiated by respondents at a mean age of 23.2 ± 4.6 years. Moassel was the most common type of tobacco, smoked by 56.3% of participants. Water was most frequently used by respondents (68.4%) as the liquid in the “water bowl”. Weed (marijuana) was reported as a constituent of the shisha smoked by about 10% of respondents. Using the Kruskal-Wallis test, significant differences in the mean days smoked in the past 30 days were found by age (χ 2=9.6, p