The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a warning about shisha smoking, claiming that an hour spent smoking in a shisha bar can be as harmful to the body as smoking 100 cigarettes. The warning, issued by the WHO earlier this month, comes as the number of shisha bars in the UK is reported to have increased by over 200 per cent in the past 5 years. According to the World Health Organisation, smoking from shisha pipes during an hour long session can amount to around 200 drags of 0.15 to 1 litre of smoke each. This is opposed to the number of drags and litres of smoke inhaled whilst smoking a conventional cigarette – typically between eight and 12 puffs, and 0.5 to 0.6 litres of smoke respectively. in addition to the potentially large volumes of smoke inhaled during a shisha smoking session, there are also concerns that people who are visiting the bars and participating in smoking are not aware of the risks. In some cases, it is claimed that people are under the illusion that shisha smoking is ‘safer’ than smoking conventional cigarettes; a claim for which there is no supporting scientific evidence. Professor Robert West of University College London commented: ‘Shisha smoking is a growing concern because people aren’t aware of the risks like they are with cigarette smoking”. ‘Shisha cafes should have prominent notices saying, “Smoking shisha can kill” - just like you would on a cigarette packet.’