'Is it possible to stop smoking shisha for good?' asked one occasional smoker on condition of anonymity. On the consumer side, there are questions about the authorities' ability to enforce the decree. 'We beg (the authorities) to look for another solution - maybe they could limit themselves to banning consumption in the streets and spare shisha sales'. 'We can't sell all this in six months, it's impossible', he said. The authorities did not provide any reason for the ban.īut in his shop in the centre of Bamako, Abdramane Daff is fuming as he shows off his pile of stock. The law, co-signed by six ministries, including the ministry of security, health and youth, 'prohibits the importation, distribution, sale and use of shishas (water pipes) or any similar device throughout the national territory'.Īny shisha smoker will be punished with a prison sentence of one to 10 days and a fine of 300 to 10,000 CFA francs ($0.45 to $15.00). The government's sudden decision on August 15 to ban shishas took many by surprise - the ruling junta, in power since 2020, had not been particularly known for its concerns about tobacco.

'Shisha' is also the term sometimes used for the tobacco product. The smoke is inhaled in through a long rubber tube, passing through water to cool it down. Shishas, or hookahs, typically burn a tobacco flavoured with fruit to provide a sweetened taste. Mali is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, and interpretations of Islam are generally unfavourable to cigarettes and to shisha.īut it is also a secular nation that tolerates alcohol, even if consumption is limited to certain public places and most shops and restaurants do not serve it. 'Shisha-abana,' exclaims Bilal, a grocer in Mali's capital Bamako, in the national language Bambara: 'Shisha is finished.'Īn unexpected ban on hookah smoking in this West African country has stirred surprise as well as division, leaving devotees dismayed but health advocates delighted.īars where small groups of smokers - primarily young men - hang out to chat and puff on water pipes have flourished in Bamako in recent years.

Shisha users risk inhaling far more toxic smoke than with cigarettes because smoking sessions usually last longer, health experts say

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