Ban on Sheesha Cafes

Picture taken from Tribune.com.pk

Last week Supreme Court of Pakistan announced to shutdown all the Sheesha cafés in the country immediately. The call was taken on plea of health department. Now I wonder why all of sudden health department got concerned with Sheesha consumption in a country where people smoke cigarettes like chimneys in public space.

These cafes were operating within boundaries and adults with consent were consuming Sheesha and paying taxes for it. Last I remember Sheesha is not prohibited in Islam the way alcohol is and alcohol is still easily available publicly in high end restaurants of Karachi. I don’t see any authorities batting their eyelashes on that.

My only question is that if all the Sheesha cafes are banned why aren’t we banning consumption of cigarettes, production & sales overall? Why do restaurants still have smoking sections across the country? Why isn’t health department concerned about sale of Gutka & Pan which is the leading cause of mouth cancer in Pakistan?

These cafes were not doing anything illegal. They had employed over hundreds. Did the court wonder what will happen to these people? Why wasn’t a detailed report of how many deaths annually in Pakistan occur cause of consumption of Sheesha shared with public? People who are consuming it know the side effects of it as well & Law meddling in an issue so minor is perplexing when we have much pressing concerns in the country.