Smoking Molokhia in Gaza.. A Forced Tobacco Substitute Raises Health Fears
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In one of the starkest signs of scarcity in غزة, recent images and reports showed some residents smoking cigarettes made from dried molokhia leaves after severe tobacco shortages and soaring prices pushed smokers toward improvised substitutes. Material published from the tobacco market on Omar Al Mukhtar Street in Gaza City on April 19, 2026 documented the practice, with accounts saying the leaves are dried, processed and sometimes mixed with liquid nicotine.
The phenomenon did not emerge in isolation. It comes amid a broader crisis involving shortages, smuggling and extreme price pressures inside the enclave, with recent reporting pointing to serious scarcity in cigarettes and tobacco products as well as investigations tied to attempts to move them into Gaza under continuing restrictions.
Health concerns are also significant. The issue is not the plant’s name as much as the act of inhaling smoke from burned plant material itself. Cleveland Clinic defines smoking as inhaling smoke produced by burning plant material and notes that it is associated with serious health harms affecting the lungs, heart and other organs. If the dried leaves are mixed with liquid nicotine, the risks may rise further because acute nicotine exposure can also be toxic.
Medical sources say nicotine poisoning symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, increased heart rate and breathing or balance problems, making any unregulated use of liquid nicotine especially worrying. In that sense, molokhia cigarettes in Gaza are not simply an unusual story. They are another sign of a harsh economy of scarcity pushing people toward stopgap solutions with potentially serious health consequences.
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Tahani Elghazaly5551 Posts
