Some children develop this habit from none other than their parents, seeing them engaged in smoking together or in the company of their friends. In the Kingdom, this happens mainly in the case of smoking shisha. There has been a trend toward increased shisha smoking in the Saudi society. Favorite places to smoke shisha are cafes and open places; however, some people smoke shisha at their homes after lunch or dinner. Children get used to seeing their father smoke shisha while they are playing around. Some women go to coffee shops or restaurants and smoke shisha in the presence of their children. These children, who get the sweet smell of shisha, look forward to getting a chance to enjoy smoking it. When they grow into adolescence, they frequent cafes and restaurants in the company of their friends to have a few puffs of shisha.
The tragedy is that some of them smoke shisha with the knowledge of their parents, who do not restrict them. This attitude of parents is the major reason shisha smoking spreads among the younger generation.
Many parents are not at all bothered about their children inheriting this bad habit that produces a negative impact on both their physical growth and character building. These parents fail in spreading proper awareness among their children of the demerits of this habit in their behavior and health. Instead, they are instrumental in developing it. Some grown-up people even enjoy smoking in the company of their youngsters. Even though some parents educate children against smoking cigarettes, they see nothing wrong in sharing shisha with them.
Some other parents, who are busy with their jobs, are not in a position to prevent their children from going out and develop such habits in the company of their friends. Their offspring often visits cafes and public places where shisha is served to have a few puffs for relaxation. They gradually get addicted to smoking, especially shisha, which is a mixture of tobacco with a flavor of fruit and sugar syrup.
It is noteworthy that smoking has been banned in public, but shisha is still available at some of these places. The responsibility to implement the smoking ban in public places is not restricted to the authorities.
Parents as well as school authorities should also play a vital role in this. Therefore, parents must avoid smoking shisha at home and prevent their children from doing so in addition to educating them about the demerits of smoking.
