By MUNAMBEZA MUWANEI –

A NUMBER of women in Ndola and Lusaka have resorted to snuff (commonly referred to as insunko) as a sex booster to raise their body temperature and relax muscles.
Apart from sniffing the tobacco, others were putting the snuff on a cloth and insert in their private parts to keep warm.
Some of the users told the Sunday Times that it raised their body temperature and made them enjoy sex with their partners, hence the use of the snuff.
But Ndola Central Hospital (NCH) head of clinical care Sebastian Chinkoyo said sex should be enjoyed with natural secretion.
Dr Chinkoyo said he had heard of women trying to use such concoctions which he described as being a risk to HIV/AIDS and cervical cancer.
“We discourage women against using any kind of herbs to reduce secretion and make their private parts tight but natural lubrication is safer for sex,” Dr Chinkoyo said.
He said there was a danger in using herbs because any friction lead to injuries and some bruises could be a point of entry for the HIV/AIDS virus.
Dr Chinkoyo said any irritation to the cervix could lead to the human papilloma virus which causes cervical cancer.
Some of the women who declined to be named said a number of them were using the snuff to have a warm body temperature.
Insunko, which was in the past used by older people, is now being used by majority of the youth in some parts of Ndola and Lusaka.
A check at one of the suppliers of snuff in Ndola’s Kawama area found some of the people buying in bulk. A sachet bought at 50 ngwee each was then repacked in small plastic containers of 25ml and resold at between K5 and K10.
Jane Sinkutwa said she had a different class of customers ranging from youths of both sexes and the older people.
Ms Sinkutwa said that she bought the tobacco (kaponda) from Masala and mixed it with ashes from the corn cobs.