Shisha: Banned but still burning

KAMPALA - It is banned by law, condemned by health experts, and raided by the Police — yet shisha still burns in Uganda’s nightlife. 

From Kampala’s sleek clubs to upcountry bars, the flavoured smoke reveals a booming black market that defies regulation and exposes gaps in enforcement nearly a decade after the ban, writes Janan Kisitu

When you visit Kampala’s nightlife, the haze of flavoured smoke still curls around clusters of young people. 

They laugh, scroll through their phones, and pass around a hose all while inhaling shisha, also known as hookah or water-pipe tobacco. 

It is not any different from the other cities like Jinja, Mbale, Gulu, Arua and Mbarara. 
But behind this carefree ritual lies a stark contradiction. By law, shisha is banned in Uganda, yet its use and trade persist, often openly.

Health and law enforcement officials continue to warn that the habit is a mounting public health threat.

Uganda’s Tobacco Control Act, 2015, which came fully into force in 2016 placed a total ban on shisha. 

The law prohibits the importation, sale, manufacture, distribution, possession and consumption of water pipes and flavoured tobacco products. 

It also bans smoking in public places and restricts tobacco advertising. On paper, the penalties are stiff. 

Offenders risk fines of up to sh480,000 or up to one year in prison, bar owners caught selling shisha may face suspension or revocation of their business licenses. 

For corporate entities, penalties are much steeper. Fines of up to sh20m, suspension of trading licenses for at least six months and possible forfeiture and destruction of goods at their own cost. 

10 years after the ban, it has only got lip service from the Government agencies, while the shisha keep burning out the lungs of a nation. 

Teens smoking shisha

A thriving black market  

Despite the legal moratorium, a robust underground supply chain continues to fuel the shisha trade. Pipes, flavoured tobacco and accessories are available in bars, private lounges, market stalls and increasingly through social-media platforms. 

Transactions often happen discreetly, hidden in informal sales, but demand remains strong, especially among young adults who view shisha as trendy, exotic or social. 

What makes the trade possible are the import routes, the business actors and the distribution networks. Recent trade-data show that Uganda has dozens of registered importers of “shisha” (or water-pipe tobacco) and related goods.
 
For example, the directory of importers lists some 43 buyers in Uganda with 96 shipments during a 12-month period, and the leading importer, Afrah Tobacco & Cigarette Factory, accounted for 11 shipments, about 41 % of the total.

According to the trade-data, these goods arrive from countries such as the United Arab Emirates and China. 

In other words, though the law prohibits the importation of water-pipe tobacco and related flavour products, shipments continue whether via customs channels (some of which may be fraudulent) or via undeclared routes across regional borders or via special purpose consignments labelled differently. 

Business insiders suggest that wholesalers and “hookah lounge” operators buy in bulk abroad, import or consign equipment and flavoured tobacco, then distribute to bars and lounges under the radar. 

“We learnt that the hookahs were not stored at the retail outlets, but at a warehouse owned by a business tycoon who imports them from Dubai,” said one dealer who preferred anonymity.

High end pubs used to sell up to 200 reusable pots a night. They can now sell up to 100 pots on an average night. 

Though Uganda’s data is less publicly detailed, anecdotal reports from Kampala’s nightlife scene suggest that some lounges operate multiple hookah stations and the “pots” (the bowl + hose assembly) are rented per group. 

A “pot” might cost a few thousands of shillings for the session, depending on the venue, flavour and duration. 

Flavour profiles are a major selling point, operators advertise flavours such as mango, coconut, mint, strawberry, apple and plum. There is the growing trend of also lacing it with marijuana, another banned drug. 

These flavours make the smoke more aromatic than cigarettes. They mask the harshness of tobacco smoke and attract new users, especially younger guests. 

Ownership of the business tends to be a mix of lounge owners, bar operators and informal entrepreneurs. Some venues present themselves as “shisha lounges” or upscale cafés; others operate under the guise of hookah throw-ins at nightclubs. 

Because the trade is illegal, many operators prefer to stay under the radar, using private bookings, members-only sessions, or shifting equipment between sites. 

Over the 10 years of the ban, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has intercepted several consignments of shisha and related accessories disguised as “charcoal” or “flavoured goods.” 

URA’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Bbossa, has acknowledged that some traders are engaged in smuggling and mislabelling of contraband products to evade taxes. 

He emphasised URA’s continued collaboration with law enforcement and health agencies to curb these illegal imports, aligning with the Tobacco Control Act’s enforcement provisions. 

Critics argue that if URA effectively halted shisha imports at customs, the illegal trade supplying Kampala’s high-end bars would quickly collapse highlighting a persistent loophole in Uganda’s tobacco control efforts and without stronger customs control, Uganda’s shisha black market will still thrive.

Some of the Shisha ports confiscated during a night operation conducted by KCCA enforcement officers together with other security agencies.

Flavours, setup in high-end bars  

Shisha lounges and upscale bars often emphasise flavour as the key selling point. 

Among the most common flavours seen in Uganda (and in imported listings) are apple, double apple, mint, lemon-mint, strawberry, grape, watermelon, coconut, mango, vanilla and kiwi. 

A few of the bars have shisha sections. However, for most of the establishments, there are no zones dedicated to shisha smoking, which increases the risk of second-hand smoke. 

The flavour list may be displayed on menus and patrons can sometimes ask to mix two or more flavours. 

A menu from another context lists flavour combinations like Lady Killer (passion fruit, watermelon, mint)” or Love 66 (mango, mint, honey melon)”. Such names are impressive to many youth. For example, a standard session might be charged at the bar as “one pot” for a group of 2-4 people, with additional charcoals or flavour changes at extra cost. 

Some high-end venues may include “fruit-head” service where the bowl is placed inside a hollowed fruit (pineapple/ orange) for visual appeal and enhanced flavour. 

Multiple hoses may be connected to a single base so a group can share the social aspect is emphasized. 

Bar owners report that the shisha element is attractive because it increases dwell time, group bookings and higher value orders (flavoured drinks + pot). 

For many users, the smooth sweet taste and the large visible smoke clouds add to the experience and mask harsher tobacco sensations. 

The health risks 

Public health authorities emphasise that shisha is far from harmless. Experts warn that a single session can expose users to large volumes of smoke, sometimes more than 100 times that of a single cigarette. 

It contains high levels of nicotine, carbon monoxide and carcinogens. These toxins increase risk of cancers (lung, throat, bladder, oral), cardiovascular disease, infertility and birth defects. 

Dr Hafsa Lukwata, the acting assistant commissioner for mental health and control of substance abuse at the Ministry of Health, warned in 2022, says: “Shisha is dangerous just like any other tobacco product. 

It is a major cause of infertility that we are suffering lately among young people, but also leading to children born with defects. Many neonates are ending up in incubators because of tobacco.” 

At the Uganda Cancer Institute, oncologist Dr Noleb Mugisha says: “Nicotine has the capacity to change DNA cells. Once the DNA is damaged, cells grow out of control, creating cancer tumours.” 

Risk is also compounded by communal use of hoses, low hygiene, shared mouth-pieces and inter user infection risk. 

Additional public health alerts highlight the lack of regulation of shisha-tobacco, poor labelling, unknown additives and the possibility that flavoring may hide other substances.

When Police arrested, and confiscated shisha equipment.

Reinforcement efforts and enforcement reality 

There have been several operations across Uganda to reinforce the ban. For example, in Mukono in 2018, the Police and the Ministry of Health raided a known shisha bar (Casablanca) and arrested four dealers, confiscating many shisha pots. 

In Kampala in 2019, the Police arrested 18 people suspected of selling shisha in entertainment hangouts. Yet despite the raids and ban, the trade continues to spread like wildfire. 

A report by the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Health Consumers Association found that about 80 % of entertainment venues in Kampala still openly sell shisha. 

The reasons enforcement is patchy include limited enforcement resources, the hidden nature of the trade, low awareness of the full scope of the law among vendors and consumers and cultural factors. 

Shisha is seen by many youths as fashionable or less harmful than cigarettes. 

The way forward 

In April 2025, the Government of Uganda launched the Second National Tobacco Control Committee, reaffirming the country’s commitment to a tobacco-free future under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. 

The World Health Organisation and health partners have stepped in to support training of enforcement officers, awareness campaigns and intensified city-level inspections. 

Experts urge that success depends on more than committees. It must combine consistent enforcement (customs, policing, local inspections), public education targeting youth and nightlife settings, tougher penalties for operators, and measurement of the remaining illicit trade so the burden can be tracked. 

For now, as night falls over Uganda’s cities, the sweet-smelling smoke of shisha continues to rise a visible, curling reminder that Uganda’s shisha ban exists more on paper than in practice. 

The laws are clear, the risks are real; but the supply routes, the social appeal and the enforcement gap keep the trade alive. The hookah hose keeps circulating, and the ban remains, in effect, challenged.