I’m a PhD student at the University of York who is researching shisha/hookah smoking within a cultural context among young adults living in Yorkshire. Shisha is also commonly referred to as hookah, argileh, and mu’assel. I’m reaching out to ask if any committee members would be interested in volunteering to be part of an advisory group for my research. I am specifically interested in leaders/committee members for this opportunity, as I am hoping general group members would take part in other aspects of this research later on.

About the research project:

• My overall project aims to develop and test a range of culturally relevant and humble public health messaging about shisha, with the hope it will enable young adults who consider it to be a part of their culture to increase control over their own health and make informed decisions.
• Before developing any messaging, I will be interviewing people in the community over the next several months to understand people’s experiences of shisha smoking, what people know about shisha, and how they feel about it. This will form the basis of our messaging.
• As someone who has smoked shisha on and off throughout my life and who grew up considering it as part of my culture, my approach to this research is entirely non-judgmental.