ABU DHABI // Smoking dokha tobacco in medwakh pipes could trigger seizures for people with epilepsy, a doctor warns.
Dr Abdul Al Kaddour has been researching the effects of medwakh pipes for about five years.
During this period, the consultant cardiologist at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City hospital in Abu Dhabi treated seven such patients, who were regular medwakh smokers, for seizures.
“We found no cause for this seizure other than … these people smoke dokha,” said Dr Al Kaddour, who organises smoking cessation clinics at the hospital.
He said the patients no longer suffered seizures after receiving counselling and support from their families to quit smoking.
Dr Al Kaddour believes that the rapid intake of dokha tobacco triggered the seizures.
There is a misconception that using medwakh pipes is less harmful and addictive than smoking cigarettes, according to him.
“The addictive power of dokha is probably much more than cigarettes, because the concentration in dokha in one session equals to at least five cigarettes,” he said.
The cardiologist had also treated medwakh smokers in their early 30s who were suffering from severe coronary ailments or heart disease.
“It is not uncommon for smokers who come to my clinic when they are just 15 or 20 years old. They say that they started smoking at the age of 10 or 12,” he said.
Because dokha tobacco is made from a variety of herbs, some are as harmful as tobacco. “We don’t know what the other additives are. They put henna in the dokha and other herbs and unknown things,” he said.
Dr Al Kaddour called for more research into the health effects of dokha tobacco.
malshamsi@thenational.ae
