Smoking shisha can double the risk of cancer, according to evidence which has inspired an upcoming Barnet Council campaign.

In March 2016, the health and wellbeing board formed a shisha health task group to find out the health risks of smoking shisha pipes and come up with a campaign to educate the public.

Missing its deadline of August, the board is now expected to approve the group’s proposals at a meeting on Thursday morning (September 15) and the campaign will roll out in October.

Shisha is a way of smoking tobacco, possibly originating from India, using a hookah, or water pipe, and flavouring with ingredients such as mint.

Research by the group showed a 45 minute shisha session exposed smokers up to 1.7 times more nicotine and contained 8.4 times more harmful carbon monoxide and 36 times more tar, compared to smoking a cigarette for five-minutes.

October’s campaign will see posters displayed in public around Barnet’s high streets and town centres, in GP surgeries, pharmacies, libraries and schools detailing the health risks.

The group will also be consulting with businesses dealing with shisha, such as specialised shisha bars, to advise them on how to make the health risks more apparent to customers.

The public board meeting will take place at 9am on Thursday September 15 at Hendon Town Hall, the Burroughs.