Up in Smoke? Egypt cancels Shisha World Cup

Egypt on Thursday banned a competition dubbed the “World Shisha Championship,” stating it was in breach of the international anti-tobacco agreement Cairo signed up to, and said it would take legal steps against the event’s organizers.

In comments to state television, Health Minister Adel Adawi said the event, which had been scheduled to be held at an exhibition center in Cairo Thursday and Friday, was banned given that “it is a blatant breach of the World Health Organization’s anti-tobacco framework which Egypt is a signatory to.”

“Legal steps have been taken against the organizers of the World Shisha Championship,” he also said.

Shishas, originally brought over by immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East, pose a serious hazard to users, with the World Health Organization stating that a one-hour session on the water pipe involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke from a single cigarette.