The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday ruled that restaurants in Uttar Pradesh cannot operate hookah bars or provide hookah services, holding that such activity violates the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) and the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008.
A Division Bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary passed the ruling in Aftek Foods and Beverages Pvt. Ltd. and another v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others, while hearing petitions filed by restaurant owners challenging police interference with their business of operating hookah bars.
The Court held that the operation of hookah bars and provision of hookah services by restaurants in Uttar Pradesh constituted a “flagrant violation” of Rule 4(3) of the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, as amended in 2017, and was contrary to the scheme and object of COTPA.
The Bench observed that the 2017 amendment to Rule 4(3) imposed an absolute prohibition on providing any service within a Designated Smoking Area. The prohibition, it said, covered services of every nature, including food, beverages, tobacco products, herbal products and hookah. The Court ruled that serving hookah is strictly prohibited, even inside designated smoking areas.
The Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to take all necessary steps to enforce the prohibition, including issuing a notification prescribing stringent punishment for providing hookah services in designated smoking areas.
It further held that the Food Safety Department and municipal corporations did not have the power to regulate or issue licences for hookah smoking in restaurants or for establishing hookah bars.
At the same time, the Court clarified that the police have the power to search, seize and confiscate materials and impose penalties against establishments that violate the mandate of COTPA.
The Bench rejected the argument that smoking hookah was comparable to smoking cigarettes within a designated smoking area. It held that the exception permitting smoking in designated areas under Section 4 of COTPA had to be interpreted narrowly and in a manner that advanced the legislation’s public-health objective.
The Court also emphasised the fundamental right of non-smokers to breathe clean air in public places under Article 21 of the Constitution. Such a right, it said, could not be abridged by the commercial interests of establishments exercising the right to trade under Article 19(1)(g).
Rejecting the perception that hookah was less harmful than cigarettes, the Court observed that hookah was addictive and harmful and contained toxic chemicals similar to those found in cigarettes.
The Bench noted that while there was no specific prohibition on smoking hookah tobacco as such, restaurants could not encourage or facilitate hookah smoking by providing the apparatus, tobacco or services intrinsically connected with its use.
It observed that the rationale behind prohibiting services in designated smoking areas was to protect non-smoking personnel and waiting staff.
The Court further noted that cigarette packets carry mandatory statutory health warnings and observed that a similar cautionary framework for hookah was required to address what it described as a regulatory gap requiring legislative attention.
The post Hookah service impermissible even in designated smoking areas, Allahabad High Court Rules appeared first on India Legal.