Environmental Police in Mukono District in Uganda have confiscated several metallic shisha pots and smoking pipes from a major bar in Mukono town during an operation that was aimed at enforcing the Tobacco Control Act.
The weekend operation, that was led by the Officer in Charge of Mukono District ENviornmental Police, Mr.Robert Wowuya together with Mr. Moses Talibata, the legal officer of Uganda National Health Consumer’s Organisation, saw them confiscate 15 shisha pots and pipes however, no arrests were made. It was an operation that caught bar-owners off-guard as they stated that they were not sensitized about the law banning shisha smoking.
According to the Tobacco Control Act that was signed by President Museveni in September 15th and gazetted on November 18 2015, a total ban was placed on some tobacco products which include, shisha (a water pipe tobacco), smokeless tobacco such as Kubar, which is chewed, as well as other flavored tobacco products.
The law also banned the production, sale and use of electronic cigarettes and provides stringent measures aimed at protecting non-smokers from the health, social, economic and environmental consequences of tobacco use and exposure.
Shisha smoking is a lucrative business for bar owners as they get to charge Shs.10,000 per person for one smoking session, with the majority of the smokers being the youth.
However, the law presents a heavy punishment for those that contravene it, an imprisonment of a term not less than a year or a fine of Shs.420,000 or both.
