National Council pushes hubbly bubbly crackdown

The National Council wants Namibia to tighten laws on hubbly bubbly and other smoking substances amid growing concerns over their use among school pupils and young people.

The council’s standing committee on health, social welfare and labour affairs is currently conducting regional consultations on a motion, first tabled in 2020, calling for an investigation into hubbly bubbly and other harmful substances.

Speaking to The Namibian from the Omaheke region yesterday, committee chairperson Joseph Sivako said depression, neglect at home and peer pressure emerged as the main reasons driving young people to smoke hubbly bubbly and other substances.

He said many pupils are effectively raising themselves because their parents are absent, while others have little supervision despite living with their families.