‘Lawless’ shisha bars flouting ineffective tobacco laws, councils warn

Councils have called for a crackdown and new powers to tackle “lawless” shisha bars which are flouting smoking and fire safety regulations.

The Local Government Association has called for a new licensing system for shisha bars after premises have allowed customers to smoke indoors and sold tobacco to under 18s.

Anti-smoking laws allow for fines of up to £2,500, but these are taking more than a year to process and provide little disincentive to repeat offenders who can reopen under a different name.

“The growing popularity of shisha bars and the lawless way some of them are being run exposes the loopholes that exist in our out-dated and inflexible licensing system,” Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board said.

“Smoke-free laws are not offering strong enough punishments to deter irresponsible shisha bar owners who are making lucrative profits, which means councils often need to carry out costly and lengthy investigations to take action against the same bar over and over again.

Shisha bars currently do not require a licence unless they serve alcohol, food or other regulated entertainment, and numbers have tripled in a matter of years – half of councils have at least one bar.

The LGA highlighted recent cases, including a shisha cafe owner ordered to pay £2,255 by Redbridge Council after customers were caught smoking indoors on two separate visits by enforcement officers.

Bolton council ordered the owners of two shisha cafes to pay a total of £2,900 after customers were found smoking in substantially enclosed areas.

Council leaders said shisha was also often imported illegally and sold without duty, while the ownership of premises was often secretive, hindering the ability of councils and police to take effective action against them.

The LGA is calling for the Government to modernise the list of activities councils can “opt-in” to licence.

Councils could then vet licence holders in advance of premises opening, more easily monitor shisha bars and cafes for harmful activity and seize equipment or revoke licences for repeat offenders breaching licensing conditions or breaking the law.

Licensing powers would also strengthen the ability of town hall public health teams to ensure owners work with them to educate customers about the misconception that smoking shisha is safer than smoking cigarettes, the LGA said.

The British Heart Foundation advises that shisha tobacco contains cigarette tobacco and therefore nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead.

As a result, shisha smokers are at risk of the same kinds of diseases as cigarette smokers – such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and problems during pregnancy.

“We would always rather work with shisha bars to ensure they operate legally rather than prosecute them, but cafe owners are more likely to obey the law if they knew they might lose their licence,” Mr Blackburn said.