PESHAWAR: “I started scorpion smoking in the mid 60s,” recalls 74-year-old Sohbat Khan.
Sohbat says he has quit smoking scorpions. His eyes are sunken from years of addiction, and his pale face and hollow cheeks betray a dependence on opium. “Nasha pa nasha khatmege,” he says, smiling— drugs are beaten by other drugs.
Experts say that scorpion venom is dangerous for the human brain when inhaled. Among the 1,750 described species of scorpions, 25 are fatal to humans. The rest do not kill when they sting, but according to Dr Azaz Jamal, their venom is far more harmful than other drugs.
“Scorpion smoking causes short and long term memory loss,” says Jamal, who is a medical officer at the Khyber Teaching Hospital. The person addicted to scorpion smoking also develops sleeping and appetite disorders, and starts living in a constant state of delusion.
“Smoking causes hallucination, the state where person have perception of something which is not present,” he explains.
