«Breaking News» Shisha bars are accused of flouting smoking laws

'Lawless' shisha bars, which have emerged in shopping parades across Britain, have been accused of flouting smoking and fire safety laws.

The bars, which originated in the Middle East, are taking over empty shops and promoting communal smoking, which has serious health consequences.

Now the Local Government Association (LGA), which speaks for councils, warns many of the bars are breaking the law by, for example, allowing people to smoke inside and it is asking for new powers to police them.

Shisha bars, which originated in the Middle East, are taking over empty shops and promoting communal smoking, which has serious health consequences (file photo)

The number of shisha bars has more than trebled in recent years, with more than half of councils now having a bar or cafe open in their area.

The shisha itself is a mix of tobacco and flavourings, such as mint, fruit or molasses sugar, which is smoked through a bowl and hose or tube.

However, council leaders are concerned that it is often imported illegally and sold without duty.

At the same time, the ownership of the premises involved is often secretive, hindering the ability of councils and police to take effective action against them.

Shisha premises that illegally allow indoor smoking or allow those under 18 to smoke the flavoured tobacco can currently be prosecuted using smoke-free laws.

But the LGA said prosecutions were taking up to a year and bar owners were increasingly undeterred by one-off fines of up to £2,500.

The LGA said some councils are was struggling to regulate persistent rogue premises that disregarded smoking and fire safety regulations.

A shisha cafe owner was ordered to pay £2,255 after customers were caught smoking indoors on two separate visits by enforcement officers from Redbridge Council.

In Bolton, the owners of two shisha cafes were ordered to pay a total of £2,900 after customers were found smoking in substantially enclosed areas following a prosecution.

The LGA is calling for the Government to modernise the list of activities councils can 'opt-in' to licence.

Councils could then vet licence holders in advance of premises opening, more easily monitor shisha bars and cafes for harmful activity and seize equipment or revoke licences for repeat offenders breaching licensing conditions or breaking the law.

The Local Government Association warns many of the bars are breaking the law by, for example, allowing people to smoke inside and it is asking for new powers to police them (file photo)

Licensing powers would also strengthen the ability of town hall public health teams to ensure owners work with them to educate customers about the misconception that smoking shisha is safer than smoking cigarettes, the LGA said.

The British Heart Foundation advises that shisha tobacco contains cigarette tobacco and therefore nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead.

As a result, shisha smokers are at risk of the same kinds of diseases as cigarette smokers - such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and problems during pregnancy.

Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: 'The growing popularity of shisha bars and the lawless way some of them are being run exposes the loopholes that exist in our out-dated and inflexible licensing system.

'Smoke-free laws are not offering strong enough punishments to deter irresponsible shisha bar owners who are making lucrative profits, which means councils often need to carry out costly and lengthy investigations to take action against the same bar over and over again.

'We would always rather work with shisha bars to ensure they operate legally rather than prosecute them, but cafe owners are more likely to obey the law if they knew they might lose their licence.'

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/23/shisha-bars-are-accused-of-flouting-smoking-laws/
Main photo article ‘Lawless’ shisha bars, which have emerged in shopping parades across Britain, have been accused of flouting smoking and fire safety laws.
The bars, which originated in the Middle East, are taking over empty shops and promoting communal smoking, which has serious health ...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca





https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/02/22/22/10162776-6735629-image-a-19_1550873536921.jpg