18-Nov-2018: Punjab becomes 3rd state to ban hookah bars or lounges.

Punjab is the third state in the country after Gujarat and Maharashtra to permanently ban hookah bars through law to check use of tobacco.

The President has given assent to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018.

The objective of bringing the law is to check the use of tobacco in various forms and prevent diseases caused by the use of the tobacco products. Smoking of hookah increases health risks including exposure to toxic chemicals that are not filtered out by the water, and also the risk of infectious disease like tuberculosis resulting from sharing a hookah.

There was a new trend of ‘hookah-sheesha’ smoking and it has been increasing day-by-day in Punjab. These bars are being opened in restaurants, hotels, and clubs and hookahs are even served at marriages venues. The youth, including girls, are using hard and soft drugs in hookah and ‘sheesha’ bars.