No more hookah parlours in TS

Hyderabad: Explaining the ill effects of hookah, which are more dangerous than the cigarettes, the Telangana government on Monday passed a bill banning the hookah parlours in the State.

The Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu introduced the Cigarettes and other tobacco products (Prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce, production supply and distribution) (Telangana Amendment) Bill, 2024 on behalf of the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Explaining the reasons and objectives of the bill, the Legislative Affairs Minister said that there was an immediate need to ban hookah parlours in Telangana in view of the harm they are causing to the young generation.

The Minister said that the hookah was more dangerous than the cigarette.

It not only affects the smoker but also the passive smokers. The minister said that youth and college-going students were becoming addicts and the organisers were taking advantage of this situation, luring them into the mess.

He said that 200 puffs of hookah was equal to 100 times more harmful than cigarettes. The bill was passed without discussion.