Rudolf Gaiseb
A parliamentary standing committee has recommended an import ban as well as prohibiting the sale, hiring and use of hubbly and vaping products in Namibia.
This recommendation is found in the National Council’s Standing Committee on Health, Social Welfare and Labour Affairs’ report released earlier this week. It also proposes prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors below the age of 18, and the open display of any hookah pipes, flavours, vapes and e-cigarettes.
The committee furthermore suggested the prohibition of advertising and marketing of all hookah pipes, flavours, vapes and e-cigarettes on all media platforms in the country.
Commonly referred to as ‘Pyp’, ‘Kopskiet’, ‘Shuff’, ‘Air Pop or ‘Poppy, ‘Skank, ‘Space Cookies or ‘Apple Roll, among emerging tobacco products in Namibia, the Hookah or ‘Hubbly Bubbly’ is dominating. Even those who never dared to smoke are now caught up in the mix and vaping, which can be quite detrimental.
Young people are becoming addicted, and their developing brain can be affected, said the report. At the moment, there are no laws controlling the sale and use of emerging tobacco products in Namibia. Despite the Tobacco Products Control Act, there is still an increase in tobacco product use among communities, especially among the youth.
“The World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has succeeded in keeping tobacco control high on the global agenda, while saving lives and improving global health. Measures outlined in the WHO FCTC emphasise the importance of using an approach that minimises both tobacco demand and supply through a variety of measures. The treaty has been ratified by more than 180 countries globally,” a section of the report reads.
Intervention
Jumping onto the bandwagon, the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) recently launched an online campaign, #LosDieChoef (translating to vernacular Afrikaans for #LeaveTheVape).
This is in response to the rise in cases of vape usage in schools and tertiary institutions.
“We have received reports of learners engineering vapes and adding drugs such as marijuana to the vapes, and smoking on school premises. This has in turn badly infiltrated the school environment and negatively impacts active teaching time,” Nanso spokesperson Jessy Abraham said.
The campaign aims to educate young people on the health risks of vapes which have proven to be severe, especially in the long run.
It also seeks to educate parents and guardians to identify these traits in their children.
Findings
Meanwhile, the report found that most learners use hubbly and vapes due to peer pressure.
At some homes, hubbly is regarded as a social or fun activity. Thus, some parents allow their children to smoke hubbly.
On the other hand, besides using it for enjoyment purposes and as a social experiment, most learners argued that it helps them relax, particularly when feeling stressed, depressed and anxious, the report found.
The committee further found that despite the escapism these instruments offer, some young users stressed that after three to five hours of smoking hubbly or vapes, they start feeling hungry and disoriented. “They indicated that if they stay without smoking, their bodies do not function well, and at times they start hallucinating and behaving in abnormal ways,” the report added. Others said the good thing about smoking hubbly or vapes helps increase their appetite and helps them concentrate, particularly during examination time. “They further claimed that their brains become more active, and they obtain good marks/grades,” the report noted.
However, teachers said while some parents are not aware their children smoke hubbly and vape, others permit their children to use hubbly, claiming it to be a better option than cigarettes and drugs.
“There is a perception among learners that vapes are healthier than smoking cigarettes, and that cigarettes are for adults and hubbly is for youth,” the report revealed.
Concerns
Groote Schuur Hospital (Cape Town) consultant and smoking cessation expert Richard van Zyl argued that the major concern generally ignored by the vaping industry is the negative effects of nicotine, along with other vaping-produced chemicals, on the young brain and lungs.
“The adolescent brain is developing, and is particularly sensitive to nicotine. Exposure to nicotine among learners is high and widespread, which should be a cause for alarm,” he highlighted.
Van Zyl added: “Dependence can occur at low levels of exposure, and within one to two days. The developing brain is vulnerable to the rewarding effects of nicotine and toxins, thus having an impact on cognitive functioning. Dependency further causes behavioural problems, depression and panic disorders.”
With lung development continuing into the early 20’s and the long-term effects of exposure reducing lung immunity or impacting lung growth, he urged that exposure during adolescence should be avoided at all costs.
Van Zyl suggested urgent regulation of hookah and vapes to support efforts to prevent and reduce the epidemic of vaping in school-learners.
Bill
To control the use of tobacco products, the Bill paves the way for the regulation and control of electronic nicotine delivery systems such as vapes, vapourisers, vape pens, hookah pens, e-cigarettes, e-cigars and e-pipes, as well as electronic non-nicotine delivery systems.
In Botswana, the tobacco control law is regarded as one of the strongest legislations in Africa.
In its Government Notice of 2020 and in accordance with regulation 30G of the Emergency Powers (Covid-19) Regulations 2020, Botswana states that ‘shisha’ or hookah shall not be used, sold or hired.
The law also prohibits government partnerships with, endorsements of, or support from the tobacco industry.
This includes government incentives or privileges related to any phase of production or marketing of tobacco products, or the growing of tobacco.
While the smoking phenomenon has suffocated some, others have been smiling all the way to the bank.
The Namibia Statistics Agency earlier stated that in March 2025, Namibia imported cigarettes valued at N$42.1 million, mainly from South Africa and Switzerland.
Local media last month reported that Namibia imported N$1.4 billion worth of water pipe tobacco (hookah tobacco), vapes and related mixtures between 2021 and 2024.
This was an increase from N$108.2 million in 2020.