Hyderabad: Despite Hyderabad Police banning places serving hookah in the city, numerous establishments, mostly in the posh colonies of Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills, were raided and booked for serving it even months later. Police said that people could consume it privately, but serving it in public places is banned.
“According to the latest rules from the Centre, no tobacco products can be consumed in public places and this rule applies to hookah too. Some people are trying to mislead the shop owners by manipulating what the order means, but I’m making it clear that it is illegal,” said an official from Hyderabad city police.
Hookah, also known as narghile, shisha or goza, is a water pipe with a smoke chamber, a bowl, a pipe and a hose. Specially made tobacco is heated, and the smoke passes through water and is then drawn through a rubber hose to a mouthpiece.
In a major haul earlier this year, a West Zone Team conducted a surprise check at Hyderabad Times Cafe in Jubilee Hills and apprehended three men, and seized 33 hookah pots and other implements from their possession.
In the Jubilee Hills case, the smoking area was taking more than 30 per cent of the total floor area, and smoking area was not designated separately. “More than 30 percent of the floor space was a smoking area and it did not have an airflow system, and food and beverages were also sold in the area,” added the official.
Speaking about the ill effects of hookah, Dr. S. Chandana said that hookah smoke contains high levels of toxic compounds and its smokers are exposed to more carbon monoxide and smoke than are cigarette smokers. “As with cigarette smoing, hookah smoking is linked to lung and oral cancers, heart disease, and other serious illnesses,” she said.
