By CHARITY MOONGA
IN traditional Africa, women knew the role sex played in marriage and went to great lengths to make themselves sexy.
This included using several sex-enhancing herbs to achieve this goal.
Among the herbs used were those meant to increase body temperature which women believed made a woman sexually desirable.
There are several traditional herbs women use secretly to make themselves ‘warm’, among them snuff which is sniffed or inserted in private parts in the belief that it makes them warm.
The practice of using snuff has gained popularity among some women, but it  raises concern because of its numerous side effects.
Snuff, locally called nsunko, is a form of dry, crushed tobacco which has for a long time been the preserve of the elderly women who used it as a cure for headache.
It comes in both moist and dry varieties and is usually placed in the mouth between the lower lip and gum or in the cheek, where it slowly absorbs into the tissue.
Many women believe that the coarse powder helps stimulate their sexual drive while tightening their private parts and making them more sexually desirable.
While some men also use the snuff, more women are now using it and many are addicted.
A recent investigation by the The Daily Vox of South Africa established that though snuff is smokeless, it is addictive and dangerous.
The World Health Organisation warns that snuff causes oral, oesophageal and pancreatic cancer.
“Young women have become so desperate to please men to a point that they would insert something so toxic into their genitals, and sadly they aren’t even aware of the danger associated with the substance,” the Daily Vox observed in one of its publications.
It also established that the sexual claims associated with snuff are myths and women who use it intravaginally risk getting cervical cancer.
Despite all these threats to health, the rate at which women are buying and using this drug in Zambia is alarming.
In Lusaka, the women are allegedly buying the snuff from Masai men at their salons with sachets costing between K1 and K10.
While one woman was doing her hair in a salon for Masai men, more than 10 women came to buy the nsunko in the three to four hours that she was there.
Some women spoken to give reasons that the nsunko boosts their immunity systems and that it is good for maintaining normal blood pressure.
Others said that it made their bodies warm while others claim that the drug dries the water in their bodies and enhances sex.
“The drug is very addictive. I have my neighbour who cannot do without it.
“It is not easy to stop using it and it damages the brain,” one woman said.
Another woman narrated how her sister was addicted to the same drug, saying that she had become a victim of the drug and could not do without it.
“Her teeth have become brown and once she takes it, she looks drunk and cannot give proper responses to any question.
“This is besides the fear that the nsunko causes cancer,” she said.
Whether the women sniff it or insert it in their private parts, the drug is said to affect the PH of the normal fluids of the female genitals, leading to cervical cancer.
Other rumours have surfaced that some Masai mix the nsunko with dagga or chamba, creating a concoction different from the one grandmothers used to smoke.
“This nsuko issue is very serious. I have witnessed women share the stuff at kitchen parties here in Ndola.
“One woman I know told me they sniff it for warmth. I did’nt know they also  insert it in their private parts.
Meanwhile, people are busy advocating for the prevention of cancer of the cervix and big monies are spent,” one woman who chose anonymity said.
Some men felt that the rampant use of nsunko among the womenfolk was of great concern and should immediately be stopped.
“You mean they do the same nsuko method? Is this true because to me dry sex is boring,” said one man.
The problem of nsunko is not restricted to Zambian women alone.
In the neighbouring South Africa, women have been found to use smokeless tobacco, according to research by Our Health magazine.
Snuff or nsunko has elements of nicotine which in turn has different effects on mood in women compared to men.
Women who quit may have greater anxiety and stress than men who stop taking the drug.
Other side effects of the snuff are bad breath and stained teeth, while chronic use can also lead to tooth loss and the body becoming dependent on the substance.
With these side effects, it is sad to note that some people are still using nsunko and other so-called sex-enhancing substances largely due to ignorance.