Don’t Huff Puff Your Way with Hookah – An Observational Study on Hookah Bars in Delhi

Hookah smoking  in Delhi

A survey of Hookah Bars in Delhi was conducted by MART in partnership with VOICE in October 2017 with special focus on consumption by children and young adults, in the wake of the increased dangers posed by Hookah consumption and the restrictions put forth by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Government of NCT of Delhi. The research team visited 40 hookah bars, identified on the basis of information from online portals and through dipstick survey.

Did you know?

• Hookah smoking is not safer than smoking cigarette.
• A hookah smoking session may expose the smoker to more smoke over a longer period of time than occurs when smoking a cigarette.
• Hookah smokers may absorb higher concentrations of the same toxins found in cigarette smoke
• Hookah smoke contains many of the same harmful toxins as cigarette smoke and has been associated with lung cancer, respiratory illness, low birth weight, and periodontal disease.
  

Tobacco kills about 1 million Indians everyday and the various forms in which tobacco is consumed in Indian include chewing tobacco in the form of ghutka, paan, etc., smoking in the form of cigarettes, bidis, hookah, etc. and snuffing.

Hookah Bar in Delhi

The observations were made on:

• the signage inside the bars;
• the interiors which were scanned for the presence or lack thereof of separate smoking areas;
• the personnel in the bars were observed for any checks on age and the policies regarding age restrictions were enquired of; and
• the presence or absence of minors consuming hookah.
  

Hookah bar menu

Key Findings of the Study

• Certain hookah bars were located near educational institutions and also in areas which had presence of students, youths.(Rajdhani College, North Campus etc)
• In the bars located near educational institutions, the prices of hookah were much less than hookah bars in up-market location.
• None of the hookah bars had personnel checking the age of the customers.
• Minors were observed to be consuming hookah in 17% of the surveyed bars. Children from the age of 13 upwards were observed to be consuming hookah in these bars.
• The timings of visit by children and young adults in these bars coincided with them skipping school or visiting these places immediately after school
• The COTPA Rules (Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, G.S.R 417(E), dated the 30th May, 2008 as amended vide G.S.R. No. 500(E) dated 23.05.2017), was not being complied with, as:
    a. Service of hookah, food, drinks etc was allowed in these bars.
    b. Some of the bars did not display the mandatory signage: “tobacco smoking is harmful to your health and the health of non-smokers; and entry of person below the age of eighteen years is prohibited”.
• These bars displayed hookah equipment inside the premises. 
• Some of these Bars also had a separate Hookah Menu.