Cameroon is the latest African country after Kenya, the Gambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ghana to ban the smoking of Shish pipes.
Cameroon has banned the smoking of shisha pipes, saying it poses a health risk to the predominantly young people who use it in bars and at home.
Cameroon is the latest African country after Kenya, the Gambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ghana to ban the smoking of Shish pipes.
About 46% of young Cameroonians smoke the substance according to the health ministry - which is typically a mix of tobacco, molasses, glycerine and flavourings, BBC News reports.
Doctors say there is a "misconception" that shishas are not as harmful as cigarettes and the British Heart Foundation says an hour-long shisha session can be the equivalent of smoking more than 100 cigarettes.
"Traditionally shisha tobacco contains cigarette tobacco, so like cigarettes, it contains nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and heavy metals, such as arsenic and lead," it says.
In recent years shisha has also been banned in Tanzania as well as Sudan - though the ban there has been reversed and reintroduced several times since.
The WHO in its 2015 advisory note said, “All the studies to date indicate that, during a typical waterpipe use session, the user will draw large doses of toxicants (ranging from less than one to tens of cigarette equivalents).
“These toxicants have been linked to addiction, heart and lung diseases, and cancer in cigarette smokers and can result in similar outcomes in waterpipe users if these toxicants are absorbed in the body in appreciable amounts.”