In an attempt to discourage sheesha usage in the country, Qatar is passing new regulations that make hubbly bubbly less readily available, local media reports.

Cafe owners will soon be required to prevent the spread of smoke throughout their eateries, the Ministry of Business and Trade has announced.

Any aspiring cafe owners will also have to apply for a license through the ministry, rather than buy it from an existing owner, who is no longer allowed to transfer or sell such licenses to a third party.

More than a third of Qatar’s residents are smokers, and doctors say puffing on sheesha can be worse than smoking a cigarette because of the high concentration of chemicals that are inhaled.

Qatar has strict regulations about smoking in public areas like malls, but those rules are often not enforced.

It will be interesting to see if these new rules are.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Anton G