Telangana Assembly unanimously passes bill banning hookah parlours

Hyderabad: A bill banning hookah parlours in the state was unanimously approved by the Telangana Legislative Assembly and Council during the ongoing budget sessions on Monday.

State Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu moved 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. He claimed that the government had decided to outlaw hookah parlours because the organisers were taking advantage of the hookah smoking craze among young people and getting them addicted.

Sridhar Babu also stated that the government had already established an anti-narcotics Team, led by an additional director general-rank officer, to reduce the use of drugs in the Greater Hyderabad area. The government would take strict action to stop the sale of other illegal substances and hookah bars in the state, he said and added that those who engage in the hookah trade will face fines ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakhs in addition to a minimum sentence of one year to seven years in prison.

Non-bailable offence

The minister informed them that a crime under the new act would be cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. He said that hookah can be a gateway to more hazardous substances and smoking hookah could be more dangerous than smoking cigarettes. “In addition, hookah may pose a risk to public health and harm those who smoke in passive mode,” he added.

Elaborating further, Sridhar Babu said that to keep it under control, the government had decided to outlaw hookah bars. He also said that the act would be strictly enforced locally and that college and high school students throughout the state would be the target of an awareness campaign about the harmful effects of hookah smoking.

Kavitha asks state to focus on illegal Ganja sales

During the bill’s discussion in the Council, BRS member K Kavitha asked the Congress government to outlaw e-cigarette use in addition to her support for the government’s decision to outlaw hookah smoking in the state.

She stated that the BRS administration has implemented various measures to contain the threat, including outlawing the production and consumption of gutka within the state. “Ganja sales are rising in the state. It must be examined,” she added.