Maha plans to put hookah under law

Taking a step closer to regulating hookah bars operating in Maharashtra, the state home department has received an in-principal nod to cover these establishments in the ambit of a law that allows the state to regulate them. A senior state home department official said that they had received an in-principal nod to move a cabinet note to complete the legislative process.

"Like Gujarat has brought hookah bars in the ambit of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, we are planning to do likewise, now a note will be placed before the cabinet for approval," he added.

Though the Supreme Court (SC) had struck down a ban on hookah parlours, the state government plans to regulate the conduct of these parlours.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had imposed a ban on hookah parlours in 2011 in establishments where smoking is otherwise permitted. This was challenged in the SC which struck it down in 2014, which led the hookah bars restarting. Officials noted that the parlours lacked a proper licensing or regulatory mechanism.