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Sheesha caf's to be shut 

SHEESHA coffee shops on Manama's Al Fateh Corniche are to be closed, to make way for a BD8 million leisure development.

Rules restricting the sale of sheesha at coffee shops elsewhere in the Capital Governorate are also to be soon revised to make them more realistic, say councillors.

Sheesha was banned in certain coffee shops across the country in July last year, but this was suspended a few days later, after a U-turn by municipal officials.

They instigated the ban under regulations dating back to a ministerial decision in November 2006, which also outlaws sheesha smoking in public parks, gardens, on coasts, beaches and corniches.

Coffee shops within 200 metres of homes, hospitals, embassies, educational institutions, government establishments and places of worship are banned from serving sheesha, under the law.

Other regulations insist that coffee shops should instal proper ventilation and meet safety and hygiene standards, before being allowed to serve sheesha.

The 200-metre rule is unrealistic and will be revised

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• Sheesha smokers at high risk of catching virus 

Sheesha smokers could be contributing to the spread of the swine flu, it has been claimed.

According to the Bahrain Anti-Smoking Society, sheesha pipes are an ideal tool for users to catch the virus since they are often passed from person to person.

'This is a real threat and all sheesha users should be careful,' said society vice-president Dr Kadhem Al Halwachi.

'We have already been told smokers are at an increased risk of getting complications from the swine flu because a smoker's lungs are already compromised.'

Health officials last week added smokers to a list of 'high risk' individuals who could contract the H1N1 virus.

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Inspectors catch 14,000 flouting Bahrain smoking ban 

Bahrain Ministry of Health inspectors have caught more than 14,000 people smoking in public areas since the kingdom’s smoking ban came into effect last year.

According to official figures 72 offenders were women and 2,060 were under the age of 18, according to a report in the Gulf Daily News.

The ministry said it has stepped up its anti-smoking campaign and has carried out a series of surprise inspections on public areas to ensure the ban is being followed.

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LETTER: Fuming at inaction  

HAVING returned to Bahrain after my annual holiday, I went for lunch at my favourite restaurant in Adliya hoping that the much-heralded smoking ban had been implemented as we were first advised last January. Of course, it had not!

The restaurant manager told me that all they are waiting for was the official letter from the relevant ministry, which they can put up on the wall, and they will enforce the ban immediately.

Apparently the staff cannot wait to work in a healthy, smoke-free, environment! So, whichever ministry is responsible, please send the letters and enforce the new law!

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• Stub it out now! 

BAHRAIN is stepping up its ban on smoking in public places, with restaurants first in the firing line.

Restaurants which have failed to designate separate, sealed-off areas for smokers are being served final warnings, it was revealed yesterday.

Action is also underway to extend the ban soon to all workplaces (including ministries) as wells as hotels, said primary care and public health assistant under-secretary Dr Mariam Al Jalahma.

Thousands of people caught smoking in closed public places have already been warned and in future offenders may be fined, she said.

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LETTER: Another law ignored? 

ON January 13, the GDN reported the planned smoking restrictions in restaurants, stating that they would be given six months to set up designated smoking areas.

The Health Ministry public health and primary care assistant under-secretary Dr Mariam Al Jalahma was quoted as saying: "Many of the 6,569 restaurants have already started implementing the directive, while others had done so with little regard for the spirit of the rule." . . .

The six months' notice expires next month and I see absolutely nothing being done in any of the restaurants I visit.

Can I reasonably assume that this will be yet another law which will be totally ignored and unimplemented?

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Smoking ban in Bahrain 

It would be hard to imagine the Arab world without the sheesha. Not only has the water pipe been a fixture of local café culture for centuries, but smoking is ubiquitous in a way most Westerners would only recognise from old movies. Yet that way of life could be about to go up in smoke, as Bahrain has joined the league of anti-tobacco nations, introducing new laws that will see people fined for smoking in restaurants and even in a private car if there are children present.

The sweeping new legislation bans smoking in all indoor public places, including hotels, shopping malls, on public transport and even ATM booths. However, it is unclear whether smoking in the outside spaces of cafés and restaurants, or public parks, will also be restricted. Establishments face fines or could even be closed down for flouting the law.

Bahrain is the latest Gulf state to wage war against tobacco, joining its neighbour the United Arab Emirates

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LETTER: Is it safe now?  

I read the article 'King backs tough new anti-smoking laws' (GDN, April 14), explaining that smoking is forbidden in restaurants and malls.

Some restaurants in Bahrain have separate smoking areas though it doesn't make a difference because they are not even closed.

But with the ban, is it safe to say that we can now eat without inhaling smoke?

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Bahrain introduces strict new anti-smoking laws 

Bahrain has introduced strict new smoking laws that will see people fined for smoking in their cars in front of children, it was reported on Wednesday.

The law, ratified by Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifah on Monday, bans smoking in indoor public places, including restaurants, cafes, hotels and hair salons, and on public transport and in private cars - where there are children.

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• Bahrain clamps down on tobacco use and advertising 

Manama: People caught smoking in their cars in front of children will face fines, according to a tough new anti-smoking law that bans tobacco advertising and heavily limits smoking areas.

The law, ratified by Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifah on Monday after it was approved by the bicameral parliament, forbids the planting, manufacturing or reprocessing of tobacco in Bahrain as well as importing chewable tobacco-based products, moist snuff and other tobacco-based substances unlicensed by the health ministry.

It also bans smoking in public transport, ports, airports, government offices, health centres, hospitals, pharmacies, schools, universities, public libraries, religious buildings, industrial facilities, training centres, malls, shopping complexes and markets. The ban also applies to clubs, stadiums, sports halls, restaurants, hotels, cafes,

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• Bahrain takes anti-smoking message to causeway  

The Bahraini Ministry of Health has distributed over 100,000 brochures at the King Fahd Causeway detailing the harmful effects of smoking and places on the island where smoking is prohibited.

"We have seen a great response through our campaign at the causeway. Smoking has been prohibited in Bahraini malls and we now plan to extend the ban to restaurants," said Dr. Mariam Al-Jalahma, assistant undersecretary of public health and primary care at the Ministry of Health.

Al-Jalahma said that according to new regulations, restaurants are required to have smoking and no smoking areas, including separate areas for children. Under the current practice, anti-smoking brochures in Arabic and English are distributed at the King Fahd Causeway's toll counter among those entering Bahrain.

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Tough tobacco bill goes up in smoke  

MPs approved a toned-down anti-tobacco bill yesterday, which does not include jail sentences for people caught selling tobacco to children.

The legislation was toned down by the Shura Council, which removed prison sentences for those selling such products to people aged under 14.

Parliament yesterday approved the new version, which instead includes a maximum fine of BD100 for those who sell tobacco to minors. . . .

The approved law is a combination of an original draft proposed by the Health Ministry and presented to Shura Council 14 years ago, but which was shelved until parliament reactivated it.

Under the proposed law, places such as restaurants that fail to properly separate smoking and non-smoking areas, or violate smoking restrictions, will be fined BD100 to BD1,000 and closed for up to three months for repeat offences.

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GCC may raise tobacco tax  

GCC health ministers could soon approve increasing tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products by 200 per cent, it was revealed yesterday.

The tax had been proposed by several anti-smoking societies in the region in their bid to discourage smoking, said Health Ministry public health and primary care assistant under-secretary Dr Mariam Al Jalahma.

"The proposal, which is now awaiting approval by the GCC health ministers, once passed will be a significant achievement for us," she told the GDN.

"As things stand now, it could be a matter of weeks before the ministers meet and give their final approval."

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• Smoking clamp on cold stores  

A CALL went out yesterday for a nationwide crackdown on cold stores and coffee shops who sell cigarettes to minors. It should be spearheaded by the Health Ministry and municipal councils in co-operation with the Interior Ministry, say councillors.

The call comes after a Health Ministry and Interior Ministry joint raid on an East Riffa cold store where an Asian salesman was caught red-handed selling cigarettes to children.

Municipal council vice chairman Abbas Hassan Mahfoodh said that they had reports about the store's practices.

"We co-ordinated with the Interior Ministry and inspectors of the Health Ministry and kept watch on the premises," he said.

Mr Mahfoodh said some neighbourhood children were also drafted in to act as decoy customers . . . .

Committee chairman Adnan Al Malki said the salesman was selling cigarettes to children for 50 fils each at the Bu Kawarah cold store.

"I first went to the place unidentified to see for myself and witnessed with my own eyes the worker selling a cigarette to a 14-year-old boy," he said.

"The store was full of 12 to 14-year-olds smoking like there is no law."

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Smoking clamp in restaurants 

RESTAURANTS in Bahrain could soon be given six months to set up designated smoking areas before facing fines of up to BD1,000, it was revealed yesterday. Outlets failing to implement the new rule will automatically be marked as no-smoking zones and fined, said Health Ministry public health and primary care assistant under-secretary Dr Mariam Al Jalahma.

A new draft law is ready and is likely to be signed by Health Minister Dr Faisal Al Hamer by the end of this month, she said.

"Many of the 6,569 restaurants have already started implementing the directive, while others had done so with little regard for the spirit of the rule," said Dr Al Jalahma.

"Either the smoking areas are not sufficient in size or facilities or they are not properly sealed. This has got to change," said Dr Al Jalahma.

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