Why Madhya Pradesh wants to ban hookah lounges and what experts say about it

Are you smoking hookah in Madhya Pradesh? Your days of enjoying the pipe are seemingly numbered after the Madhya Pradesh cabinet has given its assent to a bill banning hookah lounges. “The Cabinet has approved the State Amendment Bill-2022 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply, and Distribution) Act 2003 to ban hookah lounges in Madhya Pradesh,” government spokesperson Narottam Mishra said. But why is this happening? And where else is it banned? Let’s take a closer look MP makes de-addiction push As per India Today, authorities seem to be concerned with the hookah bars and lounges that have sprung up in the urban areas of Madhya Pradesh. The state is estimated to have around 200 hookah lounges. The call was made after district authorities felt the existing laws did not suffice in tamping down of such lounges. The law allows police officers over the rank of sub-inspector to investigate and seal them. Under the law, those running hookah lounges can be fined up to Rs 50,000 and imprisoned from one to three years. This also comes in the aftermath of a de-addiction drive in the state from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Chouhan in October, speaking at the launch of the campaign to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, vowed that hookah lounges would not be allowed to function in the state and added that they would be “bulldozed if necessary”. Chouhan, who is expected to announce a new youth policy on 13 January, in his speech railed against people involved in the illegal drug business. Chouhan at the event said that the “white drug” being sold near colleges and schools was ruining the lives of youngsters and pushing them towards addiction. [caption id=“attachment_8592051” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] File image of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. AFP[/caption] The state government has resolved to take strict action against people involved in sale and trafficking of drugs, and it will leave no stone unturned to make the society drug free, Chouhan added. People present at the launch took a pledge to make Madhya Pradesh addiction free. Activities to create awareness about de-addiction will be conducted in every town and village during this campaign, the chief minister said. Chouhan also said that an excise policy will be formulated to control the use of alcohol. Sports and yoga activities will be expanded across the state to steer youngsters away from drugs, he said. The state government, along with religious leaders and society, will conduct activities to make a drug-free state. Efforts will be taken in collaboration with organisations working for de-addiction, he said.

There also seems to be a political angle to the decision.

Analysts told India Today Uma Bharti’s frequent attempts to challenge the BJP leadership in the state and her attempts to rebuild her profile through her demand for complete prohibition may have played a part in Chouhan’s decision. As per the outlet, until now, Chouhan and his advisors have been content with implementing stronger laws that fall short of a total liquor ban. Now, they feel such laws and awareness drives will counteract Bharti’s strategy. Interestingly, Chouhan made the announcement alongside the former Union minister. Bharti, speaking at the event, said that the country became independent when the freedom struggle became a mass movement, and similarly, the de-addiction drive should be given the shape of a mass movement to get rid of drugs and alcohol. The government and society should play their respective roles for this, Bharti said. The state government will have to make efforts to implement the system of controlled liquor distribution, the former chief minister added, calling Chouhan a social reformer. What do experts say? While hookah is thought to be safer than smoking cigarettes, experts say that is not the case.

As per CDC, the tobacco is a hookah pipe is no less toxic than in a cigarette.

While the water cools the smoke, it does not filter out the toxins. As per the American Lung Association website, at least 82 toxic chemicals and carcinogens have been identified in hookah smoke. [caption id=“attachment_11807801” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Representational image. News18[/caption] The combustion of charcoal used to heat hookah tobacco may pose additional health risks, since this combustion process produces dangerous substances such as carbon monoxide, metals, and other chemicals, the website states. The website says  studies have shown smokers can inhale up to 1.7 times the nicotine exposure and up to nine times the carbon monoxide exposure compared to a single cigarette during a single smoking session. Speaking to PTI, a doctor said smoking hookah for an hour is equivalent to inhaling 100 cigarettes in terms of nicotine deposits. “At the hookah bars, which are located inside restaurants, a lot of passive smoking also happens. It is harmful to health as one hour of hookah is equivalent to consuming 100 cigarettes,” said doctor Bikash Majumder, senior consultant interventional cardiologist at Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals. Dr Sharvil Soni, writing in the Financial Express, outlined the many issues hookah smokers could face. “Some people use hookahs for fun and try to hold the inhalation longer. This is a common trend among teenagers and young adults. This leads to higher concentrations of toxic fumes being sucked into the lungs. These dramatic higher levels lead to severe negative health issues.” Soni added that hookah users are more prone to infections and other medical conditions including lung and mouth cancer. “Furthermore, because of the overlapping toxicity caused by hookah smoking, effects on the cardiovascular system are also evident. Like cigarette smoking, hookah use can also harm the pulmonary system. Hookah smokers, in any case, complain of symptoms such as cough, wheezing, sputum, and shortness of breath. Eminently, hookah use is correlated with metabolic syndrome development. Thus, hookah smokers had an exuberant incidence of hypertriglyceridemia and hyperglycemia, as well as hypertension and abdominal obesity,” Soni wrote. Which other states have banned hookah? Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Punjab have all banned hookah bars. The West Bengal government, citing public health, banned the practice in Kolkata on 2 December. Mayor Firhad Hakim was quoted as saying by PTI that all hookah bars in Kolkata would be shut down after allegations that some of these places were being used for drug dealing. He added that the licences of bars found selling hookahs would be cancelled. “There are allegations of illegal drug use at the hookah bars. The young generation is getting addicted to drugs. And, this is why hookah bars have been ordered to close,” he said. In October, Tamil Nadu passed a bill banning hookah bars in the state. The bill stated that hookah bars have mushroomed in a large scale in Chennai city causing severe health hazards as several restaurants allowed the conception of hookah in the smoking zones or areas under the pretext of providing service. The state government under the bill announced that offenders could be imprisoned for up to three years and fined Rs 50,000. This bill allows any police officer, not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector, to seize any material or article used as a subject for means of hookah bar. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .