SC tells govt to curb Shisha tobacco import

The SC also asked the government to launch a public awareness campaign against smoking Shisha and other intoxicants

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court sought the federal government’s report on its steps for putting a stop to the import of Shisha tobacco.

The two-judge bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmad, resumed hearing of a suo motu case about tobacco epidemic in Pakistan.

The apex court also asked the government to launch a public awareness campaign against smoking Shisha and other intoxicants, which are hazardous and injurious to health.

“Public awareness about harmful effects on health should be advertised through not only print and electronic media but also through pamphlets, hoardings and also by convening meetings of local residents,” says the order.

In November last year, SC ordered all provincial governments to launch a crackdown against sheesha cafes.



The apex court in its order said a number of such cafes were also selling drugs, but provincial administrations had shown their unwillingness to take action against them.

A three-judge bench of the SC headed by Chief Justice Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali was hearing the case against illegal sheesha cafes in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2016.