Banjul, Gambia – On a humid March afternoon in the suburbs of Banjul, a woman known only as the SAF carries a basket of plants from her garden. Moves urgently to avoid prying eyes, she heads to a hidden place with thick air, with the rustic scent of raw, unprocessed tobacco leaves waiting to be transformed into a popular drug tobacco.
Suddenly, her phone rings. customer. She smiles intentionally. “She’s one of my favorites because she’s back,” says Saf. Saf is a code word for Wolof’s “sweet.”
Secrets are important, the 68-year-old tobacco seller says he has been selling the substances individually to women for decades.
The word, the local Mandinka for powdered cigarettes, has been consumed in the Gambia through generations, usually by smoking, sniffing and chewing. However, in recent years, toba has been modified by adding other substances to tobacco powders, and has been used for a variety of purposes.
Sellers like SAF take regular tobacco and mix it with powerful chemicals to enhance its intoxicating effect. Many women then use it sophisticatedly and believe it enhances sexual pleasure.
Meanwhile, others, including some traditional healers, argue that their vaginal use has medicinal properties. From treatment of genital infections and headaches to conditions such as epilepsy, hypertension, and infertility, these have not been medically proven.
Though taba is not illegal, Gambian health authorities, doctors and activists have warned of its dangers and caution against its use. But many women continue to look for it.
For Fatmata*, 36, “Taba Works Wonders.”
Married for 10 years, Fatmata’s husband left for Europe just three years after his marriage. A close friend introduced her to Taba, struggling with his absence.
“I don’t want to have extramarital issues for religious reasons, so I rely on Toba,” she says shyly.
“The worst mistake in my life”
For others, its effect is not very good.
For the first time, Rose*, 28 years old, used a toba after a friend suggested that he had tried it. She continues to try, but when she uses it for the third time, she says she almost lost her life.
“I remember the burning sensations, the unbearable pain and how my body reacted like it was burning inside me,” she says. “I could barely breathe and thought I was going to die.”
The pain was severe, but short, she says. She then fell asleep and when she woke up there was an unpleasant pain between her legs. However, she didn’t ask for medical help and feared that the government had warned her against it would be to expose her as a user of Taba at once.
After her trialshe promised not to touch the ball again.
“It’s dangerous and women need to stop inserting it into their genitals before it’s too late,” she warns.
Taraba*, 28, and Isatu*, 42, have begun using tobacco to address health concerns.
“Taba has damaged my system,” says Taraba.
“In the beginning, I used it for that purpose.
What followed was unbearable. “It felt like a fire was burning inside me, and my whole body was [temporarily] I was paralyzed. “Unlike Rose, the pain was short, she lasted a week.
Isatsu also first used it as a therapy for go disease. “I heard about this powder from a colleague three years ago.
But when Isatsu tried it I was bleeding a lot.
Neither Taraba nor Isatu sought medical assistance and instead chose to endure the pain of silence. Isatsu says she remains hurt from the experience.
However, normal user Fatmata claims that Taba has no harmful effects on her health and that most women use it without complaints.
Taba Seller Saf agrees, saying that most customers have been buying from her for years. “If it’s harmful, they won’t come back.”
“Vagina tobacco is harmful.”
Little is known about the health effects of vaginal tobacco control, a peer-reviewed journal. However, based on what is known about other smokeless tobacco use, “it is likely to have a negative effect,” the author of a 2023 paper on tobacco said.
“Vagina tobacco is harmful,” argues Dr. Karamo Suwareh, a gynecologist at Kanifing General Hospital, the second largest public hospital in the country.
“It causes irritation, infection, burning sensation, itching, dirty drainage and bleeding during sex,” he tells Al Jazeera.
Dr. Suwareh warns that Taba contains carcinogens and says research is needed to see if it can lead to neck and vaginal cancer. During pregnancy, nicotine and other unknown substances can increase the risk of preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, and stillbirth.
“Toba destroys the pH of the vagina and makes you more vulnerable to STIs like go disease, syphilis and HIV.”
The Gambia Ministry of Health has spoken out about the potential health risks of active use of tobacco and warns that the risk of cancer and life-threatening complications during childbirth can increase. Some women use it to relieve the pain of labor, but health professionals have warned that it can cause serious harm instead.
The ministry used social media to educate the public about risks, and in the video, which went viral, the Minister of Health Laminsamate was seen working on gatherings in local languages to warn them about its harmful effects.
“Taba is dangerous and women should refuse,” Minister Samate said in a video that first came online in 2022.
Women’s rights groups have also raised awareness of the harmful effects of TABA.
“No women are under pressure on harmful practices like taba,” says Saliba Badgier, program officer for NGO The Girls Agenda. “Our goal is to provide women with the knowledge and support they need to make health decisions without fear or stigma.”
Human rights activist Mbassy Mane has also been frank about its use. However, she points out how the use of taba is rooted within the Gambian women’s community.
“If you go to naming rituals or social events, you’ll find women selling tobacco,” she tells Al Jazeera. “Many of these women are not sexually satisfied with their husbands, so they turn to Taba as an alternative.”
Some women even talk in code when referring to a ball. “They call it “Simankora” a-mandinka for “after dinner,” says Manet.
Secret recipes
Currently, the law does not prohibit vaginal cigarettes, but the nature of its taboo encourages the secrets surrounding it. And both the seller and the buyer operate in the shadows. Toba is generally secretly sold in the market and is sold within the circle of older women, but not available in stores.
Discretion is important for SAF, which runs a makeshift business in the outskirts of Banjul, near patches of farmland and grazing cows.
“I sell tobacco for a living. I’m happy when people come to me for a simple recommendation,” she says with a broad smile.
The SAF location is known only by trusted customers, and in the community she lives and works, she is known as a gardener who sells regular plants in the market.
“My family doesn’t sell it completely. [taba]But they don’t want me to make it public because they are afraid of being arrested or exposed,” she reveals.
In her shop, the tobacco is usually wrapped in paper or plastic. For 5 sluts (7 cents), her client gets a small pinch. It’s sufficient for a single use. The 15-sloss (21 cents) portion is slightly larger, but still modest. Heavy users or buyers in bulk can spend up to 500 slacks ($7) at a time. Large quantities of tea mugs can be filled with, such as those that bulk buyers get.
Saf says she sources raw tobacco leaves from Guinea-Bissau suppliers, processes them herself and mixes them with other substances to make them “more powerful.” Some argue that adds addictive substances such as heroin.
“It’s a secret recipe,” she tells Al Jazeera when asked what’s in her mix. “I’m not going to share it with anyone.”
The Tabasupply chain is expanding beyond the Gambia. Tobacco traders like Saikou Kamala source stocks from Guinea Bissau and Casamance to the south of the country and insists that tobacco products should not be used in the wrong way.
“I’ve heard women use it for other reasons, but that’s not what it’s intended,” he says. “I don’t think it will cure back pain or enhance sexual pleasure.
However, sellers believe in the unproven health benefits of the product.
In one of the busiest markets in Banjul, the 75-year-old seller claims the medicinal properties of tobacco, which heals wounds, relieves back pain and cures headaches.
At her makeshift food stall, the woman who has been involved in trade for decades works not only openly but also in secret.
In the unsuspecting eyes, she is another vendor selling cooking ingredients. But hidden in a clay jar – what appears to be shown at first glance – is a tva. Each transaction is calculated quickly. She scans her surroundings, then carefully opens the jar, obtains the product, and slides into the hands of waiting customers.
When asked if she would take the bottle home, she shook her head. “I’m leaving the bottle, but I’m going home with Taba.”
Women travel from all over the country to buy a cigarette from her, she says.
At her food stall, customers in a rural village buy 2,000 sardines ($28) worth of tobacco. Women in their 50s or 60s are also sellers. She buys it in bulk, repackages it and resells it in her village at a higher price.
“She’ll be back next month,” says the older seller.
Government clamp down?
According to a 2023 survey published in the Tropical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 63.2% of sampled Gambia women were current users of vaginal cigarette powder.
The study found that women over the age of 40 were 3.2 times more likely to use tobacco than younger women, while rural women were 2.2 times more likely to use tobacco than urban residents.
Despite some studies on the use of taba, Dr Mustafavitai, chief medical director of Gambia’s only teaching hospital, says data on health effects remain limited.
“We don’t have enough evidence to draw a definitive conclusion,” he told Al Jazeera. “As a ministry [of health]conducts more thorough and objective research to properly assess the scale of the problem. ”
The use of tobacco is generally regulated domestically, but smoking is prohibited indoors and public places, for example, but the use of tobacco powder, including tobacco, is not regulated.
Dr. Bittaye suggests that the starting point for addressing the TABA issue could be tobacco control methods. The Tobacco Control Act legislates the use of substances, and the Ministry of Health will work with NGOs to educate Gambian women about the dangers of TABA.
But while the authorities are deliberating, women continue to demand it, and sellers are willing to supply it.
“I make a lot of money from selling tobacco,” says Saf. “The government and other people who say it’s harmful won’t give me what I’ve made from this business.”
And what if the government cracks down?
“We just need to find new ways to keep trade alive,” the seller says.
“Women need it.
*Name withheld to protect your privacy.
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