Dubai’s Teens Replace Cigarettes with Dokha

Dubai’s expatriate teenagers are turning to the use of ‘dokha’ the tobacco smoked through a ‘midwakh’ pipe — to get a tobacco fix.

Dr Annie Crookes, head of psychology at Heriott-Watt University’s Dubai Campus, surveyed nearly 400 secondary school students anonymously across six English-speaking schools in Dubai’s private sector.

The results showed that 23 per cent of the youth reported being regular tobacco users, a large majority of whom opted for ‘dokha’ rather than cigarettes.

All youths surveyed were above 16, with an average age of 17.

“There are loads of campaigns about how bad cigarettes are and maybe the message has gotten through, but it has failed to transfer onto other forms of tobacco. Dokha’ is an area we clearly need research on ”

The majority of students surveyed, nearly 73 per cent, were of European, British or other Western nationalities. The remaining 27 per cent were comprised of Middle Eastern, Subcontinent and East Asian students.

“It was an expatriate demographic because the government is already working hard to look into substance use among Emirati youth,” Dr Crookes told Gulf News.

What is Dokha?

‘Dokha’, the Arabic word for dizziness, is a regional tobacco mix of leaves, bark and herbs. It is smoked in single bowl servings through a mini smoking pipe called a ‘midwakh’.

The ‘dokha’ variety providing the strongest ‘buzz’ is referred to as Laf Raas — the Arabic phrase for head spin. It is sold openly in the UAE, typically in small plastic pots costing upwards of Dh15, which can last approximately a fortnight."