Karnataka incurred a cost of ₹983 crores in 2011 due to tobacco-related illnesses among individuals aged 35-69.
According to health department estimates, Karnataka has more than 300 hookah bars. (Representational pic/Wikimedia Commons)
Karnataka has banned the sale of hookahs and hookah bars with immediate effect on Wednesday, 7 February.
In its order issuing the ban, the Health Department cited the violation of state fire control and fire safety norms.
The ban came against the backdrop of a fire accident at a Koramangala hookah bar, in which a man was injured when he jumped off the fourth floor to escape a blaze sparked by a gas cylinder burst on 18 October 2023. The government was, however, considering a ban on hookah even before the fire accident.
According to Home Minister G Parameshwara, 102 cases of violations were registered against hookah bars in the past four years.
“In the larger interest of the public, sale, consumption, storage, advertisement, and promotion of hookah and products containing tobacco or nicotine, non-tobacco and non-nicotine hookah, flavored hookah, molasses, shisha (hookah waterpipe) and other related products are prohibited,” the department said in its notification.
The government had in September last, decided to ban hookah bars across the state, besides increasing the tobacco-buying age of individuals to 21, by amending the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COPTA).
According to health department estimates, the state has more than 300 hookah bars, or lounges.
A statement by Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao’s office said, the ban was meant to safeguard the health of citizens and stem the tide of tobacco-related diseases.
“This decisive action is backed by alarming data from the WHO Global Adult Tobacco Survey-2016-17 (GATS-2), which states that 22.8 percent of adults in Karnataka use tobacco, with 8.8 percent being smokers. The report further reveals that 23.9 percent of adults are exposed to secondhand smoke in public places, demonstrating the pervasive risk of tobacco consumption in the state,” it said.
The statement also mentioned the economic burden of tobacco. Karnataka incurred a cost of ₹983 crores in 2011 due to tobacco-related illnesses among individuals aged 35-69, “highlighting the urgent need for preventative measures”.
“Recognising tobacco as a gateway to drug abuse, the state government’s ban also addresses the disturbing increase in opioid use and the initiation of drug abuse stemming from tobacco consumption, as indicated by the World Drugs Report 2022,” the statement further said.
Rao’s office also underscored the health dangers involved in smoking hookah.
“The ban addresses the illegal operation of numerous Hookah bars in Karnataka, particularly those close to educational institutions. The move is supported by legal provisions including COTPA 2003 and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, among others, which Hookah bars have been found to violate,” the statement added.
Rao reaffirmed the state’s responsibility to promote people’s health and to eliminate health hazards.
There is a misconception among the youth that hookah is a safer alternative to cigarettes.
According to the Centres for Disease Control in the US, the tobacco in a hookah pipe was no less toxic than in a cigarette.
“A single hookah session lasts approximately 45 minutes, with charges going up to ₹400-500. Shockingly, this one 45-minute session is the equivalent of smoking 100 cigarettes in terms of nicotine deposits,” Sports Minister Nagendra said, citing a report published by a team of doctors.
According to the American Lung Association website, at least 82 toxic chemicals and carcinogens have been identified in hookah smoke.
Meanwhile, the combustion of charcoal, used to heat hookah tobacco, could pose additional health risks. This combustion process produced toxins like carbon monoxide and metals.
Explaining the dangerous effects of hookah, Bengaluru-based lung specialist Dr V Manoranjan said youngsters considered it “cool” to hold hookah smoke in the throat for a longer time and release it in circles or rings, just like with cigarettes.
This could lead to higher concentrations of toxic fumes entering the lungs, causing several diseases, including lung and mouth cancer.
Pulmonary issues leading to cardiac problems could also not be ruled out, he added.
Dr US Vishal Rao, Head and Neck Oncologist, told South First that the ban was a significant public health measure to save the youth from gateway drugs.
“In a typical one-hour Hookah smoking session, users may inhale 100–200 times the amount of smoke they would inhale from a single cigarette. In a single water pipe session, users are exposed to up to nine times the carbon monoxide and 1.7 times the nicotine of a single cigarette. Moreover, research has shown that both tobacco-based shisha and ‘herbal’ shisha emit smoke laden with toxic agents, heightening the risk of cancers, heart disease, and lung disease,” he said.
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