Chandigarh: The Punjab government today decided to impose a permanent ban on hookah
bars in the state instead of issuing temporary orders against them every
two months.
The state cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Chief
Minister Amarinder Singh here, approved an amendment to the Cigarette
and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation
of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA),
2003 for the prevention and control of diseases caused by the use of
tobacco products.
The move is aimed at checking the trend of
hookah, hookah bars, and the use of tobacco in various forms among
youngsters, an official said today.
He said the amendment would result in a complete ban on running of hookah bars in the state.
The
proposed amendment would be presented before the Vidhan Sabha, and if
passed by the House, would be reserved for the assent of the President
of India, he added.
Under the present scheme of things, section
144 of CrPC is promulgated against the hookah bars across the country
for two months, which requires an extension at the end of the period.
The extension orders are issued every two months by the district administration.
As
per available data, an hour's average of hookah smoking contains 20-200
puffs, which can deliver 50 litres of smoke, containing harmful and
carcinogenic chemicals, the official said.
Health risks of
smoking hookah includes 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.
PTI
