Backtracking on a new directive that restricts shisha usage at Souq Waqif, management has told restaurants that they no longer need to set aside half of their outdoor tables for non-smokers.

The reverse in policy apparently took place late last month, some two weeks after business owners at the Souq were warned that they could temporarily lose their shisha licenses if they flout the new rules.

Speaking to Doha News, restaurant owners said that the outdoor policy simply didn’t make sense, as they always had a queue of customers waiting to smoke shisha, while the non-smoking tables sat empty.

However, restaurants confirmed that the new indoor smoking ban on shisha remains. That directive closes a loophole in a law that already makes it illegal to smoke in closed spaces in Qatar, which businesses typically interpreted to mean cigarette smoking.

Thoughts?