Nargila water-pipe smoker (illustration)
Nargila water-pipe smoker (illustration)Flash 90

Egyptian water-pipe smokers were left disappointed on Thursday, as the Nile state banned a competition known as the "World Shisha (water pipe) Championship."

Health Minister Adel Adawi on state TV criticized the event, which was scheduled to be held at an exhibition center in Cairo on Thursday and Friday, reports Al Arabiya.

According to Adawi, the event was banned given that "it is a blatant breach of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) anti-tobacco framework which Egypt is a signatory to.”

“Legal steps have been taken against the organizers of the World Shisha Championship,” added Adawi.

Shisha, also known as hooka or nargila, are a serious health danger according to WHO, despite the fact that many smokers of the pipe consider it to be less dangerous that cigarettes.

WHO research notes that a typical one hour shisha smoking session generally involves 200 puffs, while an average cigarette lasts 20 puffs.

It adds that 90,000 milliliters of smoke is usually inhaled during a shisha session, compared to 500 to 600 milliliters inhaled from a cigarette.

Stopping smoking, curing cancer

Egypt has made other, perhaps more dubious, steps to ensure the health of its citizens recently. 

Egypt's military in February released its new "Complete Cure Device," which it claimed could treat cancer and hepatitis C every time, in what doctors called a "scientific scandal."

Major General Ibrahim Abdel-Atti, head of the Cancer Treatment and Screening center, praised the "100%" success rate of the device, which draws blood, "breaks down" the disease, and returns supposedly cancer-free blood back to the patient.

"I will take the AIDS from the patient and I will nourish the patient on the AIDS treatment. I will give it to him like a skewer of Kofta to nourish him," Abdel-Atti said, making the unlikely reference to a local dish featuring ground meat.