The "reguila" or "narguile" more known under the name of "chicha" is of eastern origin (India, China, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt where it appeared at first at the beginning of the 17th century), the “chichi” made its appearance in Kairouan at coffee shops in the last twenty years.

The container itself and the tobacco are imported primarily from Egypt. Today the coffee shops where one can smoke the “chicha” are everywhere. There is an increasingly number of “chicha” follower where they smoke in the morning and evening especially when friends are involved.

In contrary, women in the Middle East do not devote themselves to herbal nicotine. It is worth noting that “chicha” consumption is strictly prohibited in the coffee shops terraces.

The “chicha” is a pipe with water called also " narguile" (pipe provided with a bottle and a pipe where smoke passes). Smoke is aspired due to a long flexible pipe called "Lay” then is cooled and purified in a water bottle. The furnace is filled with a mixture of pure tobacco "the tumbâk' and molasses the “maassel” to which one adds sometimes the “Jirak" to scent it.

Sometimes, however, that the “narguile” is more toxic than the tobacco. It contains 50 times more carbon monoxide than the cigarette. As opposed to what Tunisian often tells that water purifies only 10% of the toxicity of the tobacco.

In addition to the "chicha", and in the past, people smoke cigarettes which they could roll up themselves even with paper "Job" which was sold as a whole package or cut into two by a razor blade.

The tobacco is bought in bulk primarily near small sub-contractors who collected cigarette butts at the coffee shops to peel them thereafter.
They were the true cigarettes smokers where as soon as they threw the cigarette butts they ran and try to catch it in full flight. It was a trade and a sport at the same time. It should be noted that they were extremely gifted for this spectacular work.

Most people smoke the cigarettes "bakou" (package) "Arti" and "Hallouzi".
Currently the gold palm returns to the local cigarette market, the "20 mars", "Christal" which supplanted the "Khadra", "Kawakeb" or for the smokers of "Malboro" or "Royal" American even "mdharreh" (of imitation).

I remember when I was young, my grandmother often sent to me to the "gomroug" (tobacco shop) to buy her a bag of "neffa" (powder to inhale by usually old men as well as by women). But my grandmother preferred to introduce a pinch into her mouth with the top of the molars and sucked it all day long.

Usually, tobacco shops sell in addition to the cigarettes, matches and “neffa”, salt, bread, envelopes "wziri" (ministerial), stamps and even basic drugs as "bouzrag el ainine" for the eyes and "tabaa phil" for headaches.
Finally, to the statistics, according to a study made by WHO (World Health Organization), the average consumption of cigarettes in the USA is by 2.150 per annum and in Tunisia is about 985 without counting the “chicha” obviously!

In our country 65% of the smokers smoke the cigarette and 30% smoke the “narguile”.

Mohamed Rebai
info@kairouan.org