Smoking of “shisha” and excessive alcohol intake have been identified as rising causes of breast cancer among the young people in the country, President of Breast Care International Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addae has revealed.
She is also worried that breast cancer is fast increasing among the youth in Africa and Ghana in particular.
Shisha smoking, also called or hubble-bubble smoking is a way of smoking tobacco through a bowl with a hose or tube joined on. The tube has a mouthpiece that the smoker uses to breathe in the smoke.
It originates from the Middle East and certain areas of Asia but has recently become more popular in Ghana especially with young people.
Dr. Wiafe Addae made the revelation over the weekend at Effiduase in the New Juaben North Municipality, when the Eastern Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) organised a health and breast screening exercise for scores of journalists and the general public.
What’s in Shisha?
Shisha usually contains tobacco which is sometimes mixed with fruit or molasses sugar. Popular flavours include apple, strawberry, mint and cola. Wood, coal or charcoal is burned in the shisha pipe to heat the tobacco and create the smoke.
What are the risks?
Shisha often contains the same type of tobacco as you get in cigarettes. This means shisha smokers are at risk of developing the same health problems as cigarette smokers, such as cancer and heart disease.
Because Shisha can contain nicotine (the addictive ingredient in cigarettes) you can become addicted to smoking shisha.
A World Health Organisation study has suggested that a one hour session of smoking shisha can be the same as smoking 100 or more cigarettes.
According to her, most creams used by women to tone their bodies, have also been identified to contain dangerous chemicals that cause breast cancer can also cause damages some human organs.
Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addae also refuted claims that sucking of breasts is a panacea to preventing or cause of breast cancer.
“That notion is a myth and doesn’t have any proof,” she stated.
According to her, no research has yet proven that breast cancer can be caused or prevented by regular sucking of the breast or playing with it.
Men are also at risk due to their lifestyle, she added.
The Eastern Regional Chairman of the GJA, Maxwell Kudekor, averred that the health screening was the Association’s Corporate Social Responsibility to the society.
He said it should not always be the case that journalists would take or receive from society but have to also give back.
Maxwell Kudekor called on his fellow journalists to take their health seriously and regularly go for checkups since they are important to the society.