The Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Osman Ayariga, has called for a nationwide ban on shisha, e-cigarettes, and other harmful substances, citing their growing impact on the health and wellbeing of young people in Ghana.
Ayariga described substance abuse as a “teething and pivotal” issue confronting the youth, and emphasized the urgency of a national conversation around banning these products.
“The issue of substance abuse has become very teething and pivotal so far as the NYA is concerned.
“I have heard various health arguments that [shisha] is very unhealthy for young people.
“So, anything that will be unhealthy to young people, I will always subscribe that it should be banned,” he stated in an interview on Channel One TV,
Ayariga revealed that a joint operation is currently underway in Accra to dismantle drug-prone areas and ghettos, in a collaborative effort involving national security, police, Customs, and Immigration.
“As I speak to you, there’s an operation happening in Accra — a joint operation by national security and some agencies — a crackdown on some ghettos. We’re in constant collaboration with the police, Customs, and Immigration,” he disclosed.
Beyond enforcement, Ayariga stressed the importance of public education and awareness creation to address the root causes of addiction among young people.
“We need to educate our young people to let them know that they can be addicted,” he urged.
