City bar owners reject shisha ban
KAMPALA- Bar owners in Kampala have said they find it hard to stop the sale of shisha since their competitors have not complied.
The Tobacco Control Act of 2015 puts a total ban on some tobacco products, including shisha due to its health risks, including cancer. Police have closed down some non-compliant bars, especially in the city centre as part of the implementation of the law.
However, Mr David Eppa, a food and beverage manager at FAME Lounge Restaurant, said police have continuously implemented the law selectively.
“This is a competitive business. When one bar does not have it (shisha), and another still sells it, it does not make sense. As long as the importation of shisha is not stopped at high level by URA (Uganda Revenue Authority), bars will continue to sell (it),” Mr Eppa said.
Mr Eppa was speaking during a meeting of bar owners and managers organised by the Uganda National Health Consumer’s organisation (UNHCO) in Kampala on Friday.
Mr Tesfalem Ogbagiorgis, the owner of Casablanca Bar and Restaurant, complained that police have on several occasions targeted bars in the city centre and left those in other towns to sell (shisha) freely without even sensitising them on the implementation of the law.
“Let the law be universal. The law is implemented just here (in the city). Most owners of small bars think shisha was not banned but should be sold in a designated area. We need awareness for us all,” Mr Ogbagiorgis.
Creating awareness
Asked why police operations have been conducted on a few selected bars, Mr Eddie Semitego, the Kira police division community liaison officer, said it is still a process and cannot go to all bars before creating awareness.
“We still have a challenge of creating awareness because we found that arresting someone before sensitising them does not make sense,” he said.
Ms Robinah Kaitiritimba, the UNHCO executive director, said the meeting was intended to give bar owners guidance on the Tobacco Act.
Tobacco Control Act (2015) provides that “a person shall not import, manufacture, distribute, process, sell offer for sale or bring into the country tobacco products. Other electronic vaporization devices and water pipe devices are also banned by the law.
Shisha smoking
Lucrative. Shisha smoking, also called hookah, narghile, waterpipe, or hubble bubble smoking, is a way of smoking tobacco, sometimes mixed with fruit or molasses sugar, through a bowl and hose or tube. Shisha has remained popular for its lucrative returns to bar owners. Every shisha pot in many Kampala City clubs costs between Shs8,000 and Shs10, 000.
