The incident happened at Marina, Mombasa. [Photo/matookerepublic.com]
An MP from Mombasa raided a joint and flashed out youth she said were smoking shisha two days after the tobacco substance was banned by the Health ministry.
Mishi Mboko (Likoni) said she found youth smoking the banned product and ordered them to leave after being informed some of the smokers were school-going children as young as 12.
She said the incident happened at Marina, Mombasa.
“I am happy shisha has been burnt. I saw very young boys smoking shisha. I stood and asked myself, do these kids know what they are smoking?” the former Mombasa Woman Rep said on Friday.
“Where are we moving surely? Where are we as Kenya?”
On Thursday, Kenya banned the smoking of the water-pipe tobacco.
Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu in a gazette notice barred the importation, manufacture, advertising, and sale of shisha in the country.
According to the legal notice, anyone found guilty of contravening the ban faces a Sh50,000 penalty or a six-month jail term or both. A further Sh1,000 will be fined for each day a person infringes the law.
“No person shall import, manufacture, sell, offer for sale, use, advertise, promote, facilitate or encourage shisha smoking in Kenya,” Dr Mailu said in the notice.
Kenya became the third East African country to ban shisha smoking after Tanzania and Rwanda in the last two years. Other countries with similar practice include Pakistan, Jordan Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
The water-pipe tobacco contains herbs, fruit flavours or molasses and is smoked using a single or multi-stemmed tube by several people.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in a recent report revealed that smoking shisha poses grave health risks.
Mishi said drugs in Mombasa are now being sold in chemists, a development she said had hampered efforts aimed at fighting drug use and sale.
She accused young drug users of the rising crime in Mombasa
“When they get hold of knives after taking drugs they won’t care who you are,” the MP said.
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