Westlands dethroned as Shisha capital; here are the surprise new hot spots
Parklands and Mathare are the new hubs of shisha smoking in Nairobi according to a new study.
Data released by the Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (Ketca) on Wednesday indicate that while many nightclubs, bars and restaurants in Nairobi y have complied with the shisha ban, a good number are still breaking the law.
“Overall, 82 per cent of the hospitality venues visited were found in compliance. However, there was considerable variation among the seven areas. The highest level of compliance was observed in Westlands (100 per cent),” noted Dr Salome Nyambura, a research consultant from Kenyatta Univeristy.
Parklands had the lowest level of compliance (57 per cent).
Shisha smoking and equipment was most often found in nightclubs (24 per cent) and bars (20 per cent), but was rarely observed in restaurants (5 per cent), Dr Nyambura added.
The survey was conducted in 200 night clubs, restaurants and bars in six neighbourhoods in Nairobi, including Westlands, Parklands, Kasarani, Eastlands, Lang’ata, Mathare Valley and Pipeline.
According to the study many entertainment joints in Parklands sell the banned products to university students frequenting their premises.
Ministry of Health banned the sale of shisha in 2017. The country became the third country in East Africa to ban the smoking of the water-pipe tobacco after Tanzania and Rwanda.
The ban prohibits the importation, manufacture, advertising, sale and use of shisha in commercial establishments such as restaurants and nightclubs Kenya.