‘I am suffering’ Abu Dhabi residents bemoan second-hand shisha smoke

Shisha is still being served near residents. Andre Forget / The National

ABU DHABI// Every evening when he arrives home from work, Mahbubur Rahman passes groups of people smoking shisha at a cafe near the entrance to his building.

The 50-year-old recently developed asthma, which he puts down to the second-hand smoke he inhales while coming and going from his home in Muroor.

“I am suffering. For the past two weeks I have been visiting doctors and they said I have asthma. The shisha smoke is the main cause,” said Mr Rahman.

Under Ministry of Health rules, shisha cafes are banned from operating within 150 metres of residential areas, schools and mosques and must have a sign on display stating that customers younger than 18 are not allowed.

Shisha must not be smoked within 1.5 metres of a footpath, 7.5 metres of building entrances, other shops and windows, and 3.5 metres of swimming pools.

However, many cafes openly flout these rules.

“This is a completely residential area but they are operating here,” said Mr Rahman, who added that the cafe had extended its opening hours until late into the evening.

“People sit there and smoke for long hours. This causes us trouble in going in and out of the building and we feel uncomfortable,” said the teacher who lives with his wife and two daughters, aged 13 and six.

Kevin Rodrigues, 36, a project manager, also lives in a building with a shisha cafe on the ground floor. He was concerned about the health of his children, aged eight, six and four.

“They set up tables outside. The whole area smells of shisha in the evening. When my children go to school in the morning, it reeks of shisha and they end up being passive smokers,” said Mr Rodrigues, from India. “The cafe is extended to the pavement and the whole area is a mess, especially in the evenings and weekends.

“Smoking a single shisha pipe is equal to smoking 140 cigarettes. In a family dominated building, children are inhaling this,” Mr Rodrigues said.

People in Dubai Marina also complained about shisha being served in cafes below their flats, in breach of ministry rules.

Marwan Al Mohammad, director of public health and safety at Dubai Municipality, said inspectors regularly visited businesses to ensure they followed the rules. Breaches can result in fines up to Dh40,000.

Shamim, who works at Zeina Cafe in a residential building in the capital, said he has had no complaints from residents.

“No residents came and talked to us about any problems.”

Sultan Saeed, owner of Nagham Cafe in Muroor, said he was licensed to run a coffee shop, but also served shisha.

“Every time the rules change they give me fines. I will do whatever I can,” Mr Saeed said.

Dr Omniyat Al Hajeri, director of Public Health and Research at Health Authority Abu Dhabi, said people needed to act if they wanted to live in a healthy environment.

“Parents have to be the voice of their children. If every single parent who has young kids decided not to enjoy shisha the shops will lose customers and will have to provide a more suitable environment.

“You can’t get governmental scrutiny 24/7. Even if the cafes have already been given warnings and fines, it doesn’t really work 24/7. We need the input of every individual,” she said.