Tobacco law has little impact on shisha business in Ajman

More than a year after strict rules governing the sale and use of tobacco were enforced, it’s back to business as usual for shisha cafe owners in Ajman.

Under the rules, shisha cafes must be at least 150 metres away from residential buildings, schools, hospitals and mosques, and must have separate smoking and non-smoking sections. Pawan Singh / The NaShow more

AJMAN // Ajman’s shisha cafe owners are reporting little impact on business, more than a year after strict rules governing the sale of tobacco were enforced.

Despite initial fears that the law would drive away business and force some cafes to close, owners said customers have embraced the new regulations, such as a ban on those under 18.

“I live in this country and I have to apply its rules. I don’t want to lose my business,” said Khaled Khalaf, 33. “I think they will apply the law step by step.”

Mr Khalaf, a Palestinian, had barred anyone under 18 from entering his cafe, which is in a commercial and residential building.

“In my cafe, there is a PlayStation for kids and I can’t allow them to enter and play because it is forbidden.

“Most of my income and profit comes from shisha customers, but if my cafe does not comply with the laws I have to change it from shisha to non-shisha.

“In my opinion, if there is a cafe that does not meet the conditions and was forced to move or change its activity, it would lose a number of its customers who come to smoke shisha.”

The federal law on tobacco control was passed in 2009 but only brought into effect in the emirate last year, after cafe owners were invited to attend a seminar outlining the rules in February.

Under the rules, shisha cafes must be at least 150 metres away from residential buildings, schools, hospitals and mosques, and must have separate smoking and non-smoking sections.

Cafe owners said several cafes closed after being unable to meet the new rules, but Ajman Municipality would not comment.

Abdel Moneim Osman, who runs a shisha cafe on the corniche, said he attended the seminar at the Ramada hotel in February last year with other owners.

Owners and staff were worried that their cafes would be closed arbitrarily, in what they feared would be a wholesale clampdown on the use of shisha.

“The law comprises the unavailability of cafes in residential areas, but they are allowed in commercial residential buildings because the occupants chose to live in a building that has a cafe,” said the 39-year-old Tunisian.

“My cafe is located on Ajman Corniche, which is a tourist area, and it is allowed to have cafes and shisha there.

“The officials checked my cafe and they found that it meets the required conditions that were mentioned in the implementing regulation for the federal law.”

Mr Osman said that although the federal law on tobacco control is a “moral law”, he thought smoking was a personal decision for customers, and said many people were employed and provided for their families through shisha cafes.

“Guys who work on shisha will suffer from this law if a cafe is told to halt providing shisha to customers,” the owner said.

The law is being implemented throughout the UAE, with each emirate introducing the regulation at a different pace. In March, inspectors from the Department of Economic Development started visiting the almost 1,000 shisha cafes across Abu Dhabi to ensure compliance with the new law.

In August, cafe owners in Dubai who repeatedly flout the anti-smoking rules were warned they could face fines, while in Sharjah supermarkets and grocery stores in residential areas were banned from selling cigarettes. The municipality also banned the sale of cigarettes near schools to prevent youngsters from taking up the habit, as well as reducing smoking among adults.