MUSCAT: Citizens and residents in Oman have welcomed Muscat Municipality’s decision to temporarily suspend licences to sheesha cafes and sale of tobacco products in the country. 

On Sunday, the Municipality issued a circular (3/2020) temporarily suspending licenses for street vendors, sheesha cafés and sale of tobacco products, based on the Muscat Municipality Law that regulates the health-related activities. 

Speaking to The Arabian Stories, an official with the Muscat Municipality said the decision was issued after repeated complaints from people about shisha cafés near their residences. “The decision to suspend issuing licenses as you know is temporary and we have taken into account the complaints from people as well. Taking care of our people’s health is also important and we will see how this goes,” he said.   

Ibrahim Al Maamari, a resident in Al Khuwair said he expects tighter regulations on sheesha, as many young adults are getting addicted to smoking. “This is a welcome move from Muscat Municipality but what we would like to see is to have stringent rules which will help reduce smoking,” he said. 

One-hour Sheesha session is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes  

According to research carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the volume of smoke inhaled in an hour-long sheesha session is estimated to be the equivalent of smoking between 100 and 200 cigarettes. The estimated findings go on to show that, on average, a smoker will inhale half a litre of smoke per cigarette, while a shisha smoker can take in anything from just under a sixth of a litre to a litre of smoke per inhale.

In 2014, Oman’s Shura Council voted to ban shisha completely but the recommendation is still not considered. In June 2019, however, the country imposed a 100 per cent tax on tobacco products.