The proposed policy will set criteria such as age limit for the visitors, bar timings and other necessary concerns.
To regulate the mushrooming of hookah bars across the state, the home department has decided to formulate a policy specific to them. At present, hookah bars are covered under the Maharashtra Police Act rules and Tobacco Control Acts of the central government, which do not have anything specific about hookah
"The department has realised that a hookah bar-specific policy is needed. We are working on formulating such a policy, which should be put in place by next year," said Vijay Satbir Singh, principal secretary (home). Sources said the decision was taken after the issue was raised in the ongoing assembly session following recent raids in Nagpur where 10 youths and two women were arrested from the parlours. It is reported that the parlours were serving customers till 4am, well beyond the 1.30am deadline.
The proposed policy will set criteria such as age limit for the visitors, bar timings and other necessary concerns. Hookah lounges have been operating as per the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) rules set by the centre in keeping with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The state had put a blanket ban on hookah bars in 2011 after Shubha Raul, the then Mumbai mayor, launched an agitation against hookah lounges. She even staged a dharna outside popular joints and filed a petition to ban the parlours.
Acting on the petition, Bombay High Court asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to reset the rules. Many other states then followed suit, causing the hookah lounge business to shut down. The city then had to close nearly 400 such lounges.
The bars, however, returned after Supreme Court recognised that the BMC cannot interfere in the matter. The law prohibits smoking in public places, except in designated smoking rooms in hotels and restaurants. The apex court pointed out that the law permits the sale of cigarettes and tobacco to adults in areas outside a 100-yard radius of educational institutions.
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