Hyderabad: The Telangana Legislative Assembly took a unanimous decision on Monday to pass a Bill prohibiting hookah parlors. State Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu, representing Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, introduced the bill, highlighting concerns that organizers of hookah parlors were exploiting the growing popularity of hookah smoking among youth, particularly college students. He emphasized the potential for youth addiction to hookah and pointed out that smoking hookah is more harmful than cigarettes, exposing users to toxic substances.
Minister Babu argued that hookah smoking also poses risks to passive smokers and creates a health hazard in public spaces. To address these concerns, the government deemed it necessary to implement stringent measures, including the outright ban of hookah bars. The “Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Telangana Amendment) Bill, 2024” was passed unanimously and swiftly without detailed discussion.
