Delhi Govt tells top cop to act against hookah bars

New Delhi: The Delhi government has written to police commissioner Amulya Patnaik seeking appropriate action against hookah bars, which are being run illegally in the capital. 

Referring to previous communications in this regard along with letter numbers and dates, additional director (health) S.K. Arora said despite repeated requests for action, the hookah bars were still running in various res-taurants, eatery houses and hotels “illegally” in several parts of the city.

“We have communicated to the Delhi police on several occasions in the past four years that a large number of hookah bars are running in various restaurants, eatery houses and hotels all over Delhi, which are not only illegal but also spoil the younger generation by making them addicted to nicotine and other harmful materials,” Mr Arora said, in his letter.

He said hookah bars were not allowed in non-smoking zones as per Section 4 of The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA). 

A recent notification from the Union health ministry completely prohibits use of hookah even in smoking zones also.

Mr Arora said most of the owners of these hookah bars claim that they were using herbal materials, but the seized material from these hookah bars during several raids showed the presence of nicotine in a significant amount in all the samples during chemical analysis.

“This shows that in the name of herbs, these bars use nicotine alone or as an additive to these herbal mixtures,” the letter said.

Areas from where there were repeated complaints include Connaught Place, Hauz Khaz village, Rajouri Garden, Janakpuri district centre, Greater Kailash 1 and 2, Defence Colony, cinema theatres and different other shopping malls.