By Shah Nawaz Mohal
Despite the directions of the Supreme Court, the administrators of the city have failed to remove all the illegal Sheesha Cafes running in the twin cities. The city’s management was granted one month for strict and prompt action. However, the ICT administration failed to stop the sale of the chemicals, commonly known as flavours at every tobacco shop.
In recent years, there was a new trend of inhaling pure oxygen, called oxygen shots. Dr Salman, while talking to Pakistan Today revealed that if you breathe air with much higher oxygen content than normal concentration, the oxygen in the lungs overwhelms the blood’s ability to carry it away. As a result, free oxygen binds itself to the surface proteins of the lungs that in turn interferes with the operation of the central nervous system and also attacks the retina.
The O2 Oxygen Lounge is being run in a main commercial area; blue area near Red Zone. This lounge is frequently visited by the elite class and high bureaucracy.
Contrary to popular myth, hyperventilating air at ordinary pressures never causes oxygen toxicity (the dizziness is due to CO2 levels dropping too low), but breathing oxygen at pressures of 0.5 bar or more (roughly two and a half times normal) for more than 16 hours can lead to irreversible lung damage and, eventually, death.
Previously in this paper, a detailed story was published on sheesha cafes running secretly in the posh sectors of the twin cities, including F-11, Blue Area, Bahria Town, DHA, PWD colony and other private housing societies despite a blanket ban ordered by Supreme Court.
There are various varieties in flavours carrying 6mg, 12mg and 24mg nicotine and a bottle of 10ml, 30ml and 120ml are available at all the tobacco shops, especially in pan shops and franchises of e-lite.
When contacted, the Additional Deputy Commissioner General (ADCG), Abdul Sattar Isani said that the authority did not have any idea about the illegal shots of O2 in Oxygen Longue; the ICT will probe the matter if this practice is injurious to health. “Franchises of e-lite brands in Centaurs and F-11, however, if they claimed to have a license than it must not have mentioned the legality to buy or sell sheeshas, electronic cigarettes, chemical flavours and coils which are illegal. Anyhow, it is possible that as a firm or company it may register with SECP,” he concluded.
