Telangana Assembly passes Bill banning hookah parlours
The Bill amending the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act of 2003 passed unanimously with a voice vote, without any discussion.
Hyderabad: Telangana Legislative Assembly and Council on Monday unanimously passed a Bill banning hookah parlours in the State.
Moving the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution) (Telangana amendment) Bill, 2024, on behalf of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, State Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu said the hookah parlour organisers were taking advantage of the hookah smoking craze among young people and making them addicted, hence the government had decided to ban it in the State.
Also Read
The government would initiate stringent measures to curb hookah bars and the sale of other narcotic substances in the State, he said, adding that the government had already constituted a Anti-Narcotic Team, headed by Addition Director General rank officer to curb usage of narcotic substances in the Greater Hyderabad jurisdiction.
The Minister said people involved in hookah business would be punishable with imprisonment from a minimum one year to seven years and a fine of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2 lakh would be imposed. An offense under the new Act would be cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, he informed.
He further stated that smoking hookah could be more harmful than smoking cigarettes and that young people could move on to more toxic substances. “Hookah could also harm passive smokers and could be a public health hazard,”he said.
The government decided to ban hookah bars as tough measures were needed to keep it in check, he said, adding that the Act would be strictly implemented at the ground level and an awareness campaign against the ill-effects of hookah smoking would be undertaken for school and college students across the State.
Taking part in the discussion on the Bill in the Council, BRS member K Kavitha, while welcoming the government’s decision to ban hookah smoking in the State, she urged the government to even ban the usage of e-cigarette. The BRS government had banned the manufacturing and consumption of gutka in the State and taken several measures to curb the menace, she said. “The sale of ganja in the State is increasing. It needs to be checked,” she said.
BRS member S Vani Devi said due to the failure of various governments the sale of narcotic substances in the State was flourishing and youth were getting addicted to it. Hookah parlours were being set up near schools and colleges, due to which students were getting addicted to it, she said, adding that the police should take stringent action against people running hookah parlours.
Council chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy too expressed concern over students getting addicted to hookah smoking and other narcotic substances. “Even in villages people are getting addicted to narcotic substances. There is a rise in cigarette smoking and ganja sales in rural areas,”he said.
BRS MLC Tata Madhu urged the government to conduct orientation classes in schools on the ill-effects of cigarettes, tobacco and narcotic substances to create awareness among students. Bhanu Prasad said during the assembly elections the police seized 81 tonnes of ganja in the State, which shows the intensity of the problem.
