Shisha lounges, where smokers inhale from waterpipes, are in the sights of anti-smoking campaigners after a state Health Department survey showed about 20 per cent of adults living in Hume and Whittlesea were cigarette smokers.
According to the Victorian Population Health Survey 2011-12, 21.9 per cent of adults in Whittlesea and 19.2 per cent of adults in Hume call themselves smokers. The state average is 15.7 per cent.
Northern Melbourne Medicare Local (NMML) chief executive Geoff Lavender said smoking rates were particularly high in ethnic communities.
He said a recently launched NMML ‘‘stop smoking’’ campaign called ‘‘quit help’’ would target users of shisha (waterpipes).
Quit Victoria, the Heart Foundation and the Australian-Lebanese Medical Association are also campaigning to address a loophole in the Tobacco Act 1987 that allows shisha to be smoked indoors.
Australian Association of Smoking Cessation Professionals vice-president Colin Mendelsohn said shisha smoking could be more dangerous to a person’s health than smoking cigarettes.
“In a typical one-hour session a waterpipe smoker may inhale as much smoke as a cigarette smoker may inhale from 100 cigarettes or more,” Dr Mendelsohn said.
Mr Lavender said NMML’s campaign was encouraging smokers to consult their doctor to help them quit the habit rather than go “cold turkey”.
“The success rate for quitting unsupported is three to five per cent, compared with a 20-25 per cent success rate when supported by a health professional.”
