Last order for several shisha cafes in Dubai residential areas

On July 21, 2013 the Ministry of Health announced executive regulations of the Anti-Tobacco Federal Law, which came into effect on January 21, 2014.

At the beginning of this year the law was re-stated, as shopkeepers, distributors, the hospitality sector and individual smokers were given enough of time to gear up for the implementation of the rules.

However, some shisha cafes remained open in areas where they were banned, shisha continues to be served in dining areas in the presence of children and children under the age of 18 are still able to purchase tobacco products.

This week Dubai Municipality called on all members of the community and concerned parties to cooperate with the implementation of the resolution as required, and said that the rules would now be strictly enforced.

What does this really mean?

The rules in a nutshell

Although the Federal Law consists of a long list of rules and restrictions, most noteworthy are the following:

- Smoking in the car in the presence of a child below 12 years is forbidden

- The sale of tobacco products to any person under the age of 18 is a violation, and persons under the age of 18 are not allowed to enter a smoking area

- Shisha shops and shops selling tobacco products may no longer be available near schools and mosques. A minimum distance of 15 metres should be maintained from kindergartens, schools, universities and colleges, a minimum of 100 metres from places of worship

- A minimum of 150 metres from residential areas is the rule for shisha cafes

- Shisha cafes are subjected to working hours from 10am to midnight, must be located on a main street

- Tobacco products cannot be displayed near items marketed for children, or sportswear, health, food and electronic products

- All products must display a large warning label on the front to raise awareness on the dangers of tobacco, and not to mislead them

The reality

When these rules were implemented in January, Emirates 24/7 visited several shisha cafes in Dubai.
All the cafes visited were located in the middle of a residential area.

However, in none of the cafes the implementation of the Federal Law seemed to be understood.

“We have not been told to make any changes, and we are not aware of any ;aw,” was the standard answer given.
Sultan al Suwaidi, Head of the Public Safety Section of the Public Health and Safety Department at Dubai Municipality acknowledged that the rules are currently not always followed up.

But this is to be changed, he assures.

“We are moving slowly, but we want these rules to be followed eventually, he said. “It is a Federal Law and it will be implemented.”

On a daily basis a team of inspectors heads out to visit the many places where tobacco consumption plays a role. “We do find people violating the rules. We instruct them to rectify the violation.”

That does not mean that businesses should shut down entirely, as there are many solutions that can be applied, explains Sultan.
“When a restaurant serving shisha is located in an area where this is banned, they may want to eliminate the shisha and introduce another business model.

“When a shisha café is located in a back street, it may want to open a smoking partition on the main street side. “When a shopkeeper gives us a suggestion to improve the situation, we are willing to give them time to apply this solution.”

A commonly seen restaurant setting is that of a dining area where shisha can be served. “This is not a violation per se,” explains Sultan.
“If a premise is licensed as a restaurant, it may serve shisha. But there must be a partition for smokers, and one for non-smokers. Children may not be permitted entry to the smoking section.”

A common violation is that of the premise being too small to serve shisha at all, adds Sultan.

“We see this violation a lot, especially in the business district of Dubai. Here it is expansive to rent property, so there are quite a few small shisha cafes. These premises will have to expand, or eliminate the shisha from the menu.”

Currently the municipality is creating a database of all the violations and possible solutions observed. This will eventually lead to the strict enforcement of the rules.

“We do not want to harass businesses. But at the same time these rules must be followed.

“People should know about these rules already. When they open a business, they are expected to be informed about the rules and conditions.

“There is no place in the world where this logic does not work,” he uttered.

“With our efforts we hope to achieve that by 2015 the picture is clear, and that there are no mistakes about what can and cannot be done. When a mistake is made by that time, the business will have to go elsewhere.”

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.