Rise in number of shisha bars in the Midlands

  • Central
The British Heart Foundation warns smoking shisha is the equivalent to smoking more than 100 cigarettes Credit: ITV News Central

ITV News Central has learned that there are more than five times the number of shisha bars across the Midlands now compared with 2007.

The news comes as the British Heart Foundation warns that an hour's shisha session is the equivalent of smoking more than 100 cigarettes.

A shisha pipe uses sweetened tobacco - popular flavours include apple, mint and strawberry. Charcoal is burnt in the pipe to heat the tobacco and create the smoke which is then inhaled like a cigar.

Change in the number of shisha bars from 2007 to 2014:

Shisha pipes use tobacco sweetened with fruit or molasses sugar, which makes the smoke more aromatic than cigarette smoke. Popular flavourings include apple, plum, coconut, mango, mint, strawberry and cola. Wood, coal, or charcoal is burned in the shisha pipe to heat the tobacco and create the smoke because the fruit syrup or sugar makes the tobacco damp.

When you smoke shisha, you and anyone sitting near you are breathing in smoke which releases toxins including carbon monoxide and heavy metals –reducing your body’s ability to carry oxygen around in your blood. Visit our smoking page to find out more about the effect that smoking has your body.

  • Birmingham: from 3 to 19 shisha bars

  • Coventry: from 0 to 9

  • Derby: from 0 to 5

  • Leicester: from 6 to 13

  • Nottingham: from 0 to 8

  • Stoke-on-Trent: from 0 to 2

The British Heart Foundation's associate medical director, Dr. Mike Knapton, warns shisha is linked to some serious or life-threatening diseases.

Zee Moustapha owns Moon Shisha Lounge - which claims to be the longest-running shisha bar in Birmingham.

He admits that tests have shown there are health concerns about smoking shisha but that one person will not spend an hour's session just smoking shisha.

The smoking law:

Shisha is given the same consideration as other tobacco-based products when it comes to the smoking ban.

Smoking is not permitted in fully enclosed public spaces but businesses are allowed to set up legal smoking areas under certain conditions.

Waterpipes like shisha can be smoked in open air. They can also be smoked in areas where there is a roof or ceiling as long as at least 50% of the walls around the smoker are permanently open.

Any opening which can be closed - including doors, windows or shutters - are counted as "closed."

Businesses can be fined up to £2,500 by councils if these regulations are not met.