According to statistics from Lebanon’s state tobacco authority, also known as La Régie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs, household tobacco sales reached nearly 16 tons last year. That’s an average of around 337 shishas per person (based on the total nbr of Lebanese above 18). These figures do not include wholesale sales to restaurants and cafés, as well as teenagers, which suggests that overall consumption is likely much higher.
This is a deeply alarming statistic, yet it’s disheartening to see that the relevant ministries have taken no real initiative to regulate or limit shisha smoking. On the contrary, shisha—also known locally as arguile—remains a highly popular social trend. To make matters worse, vapes and e-cigarettes are now everywhere, and it’s safe to say that many users have no idea what kind of substances they’re inhaling.
Coming back to the health risks of arguile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that a typical nargile session lasts between 20 and 80 minutes. Because of the prolonged duration and depth of inhalation, one hour of nargile smoking can involve inhaling 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette. [Source]
You can find below more alarming reports on tobacco usage in Lebanon:
[UNDP Report]
[AUB Study]