One less thing to do in Jeddah starting Saturday ...

Alliecat ViP

Member since 13 October 2009

Alliecat
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AlliecatViP11 October 2012 03:35:03

8790

Jeddah shisha smokers forced out of the Saudi city's cafes

RIYADH (Reuters) - Smokers of the hubble-bubble water pipe have until Saturday to indulge their fondness for sweet flavored tobacco in Jeddah's cafes as the Saudi city prepares to enforce a public ban on the habit.

A law against smoking the pipes, known in Arabic as shisha, in public places has been in place for years in some other Saudi cities, but it is only now being implemented in Jeddah, which is known as more socially liberal than the capital Riyadh.

"It's a big problem for our cafe. More than 80 percent of our customers come to smoke shisha. Now they complain as soon as they walk through the door when we say we won't have shisha," said Ghassan Mohammed Mansour, the manager of Jeddah's upscale Caffe Aroma in a phone interview.

English-language daily Saudi Gazette reported on Wednesday that more than 35 businessmen with investments in restaurants and cafes had complained to the city's chamber of commerce about the ban, demanding it protect their interests.

The pipes have been banned on health grounds, alongside other forms of smoking, with the Health Ministry campaigning for tougher measures against the habit for years.

Shisha smoking is popular in Saudi Arabia, but it is frowned upon by clerics of the austere Wahhabi school of Islam that dominates the world's top oil exporter.

In Nejd, the central part of Saudi Arabia where Riyadh is located and which is the heartland of Wahhabi belief, shisha smoking has long been banned in urban areas.

A grace period for cafes and restaurants that offer their customers shisha was announced in July by Interior Minister Prince Ahmed, but it ends on Saturday after which smokers will have to drive to the city limits to puff in public.

But cafe manager Mansour said the ban would be felt hardest by women, who would find it hard to frequent licensed shisha cafes outside the city limits in a country where only men are allowed to drive.

Businesses that flout the ban face increasingly hefty fines and ultimately closure if they are caught offering the pipes to customers.

"At this moment we have good menus and good food, so we will try to bring in new customers by advertising our food, but still we lose," Mansour said.

3dnan Serial expat

Member since 09 September 2011

3dnanSerial expat11 October 2012 05:32:58

207

You are absolutely right!!! I mean, the people's best past time is going and smoking a shesha with friends, (even mine when I go there )
I liked Jeddah for having these Cafe shops around the city, but now it's gone

Aurélie ViP

Member since 02 May 2012

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AurélieViP11 October 2012 05:53:28

22735

Hello Alliecat.

Thank you for sharing these informations with us but can you please post the source of this article (preferably a link)?

Thank you,
Aurélie

houstonian Serial expat

Member since 05 October 2011

houstonianSerial expat11 October 2012 06:15:26

229

Aurélie wrote:
Hello Alliecat.

Thank you for sharing these informations with us but can you please post the source of this article (preferably a link)?

Thank you,
Aurélie

Here is a link from Arab News.

http://www.arabnews.com/shisha-ban-jedd … eriod-ends

Alliecat ViP

Member since 13 October 2009

Alliecat
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AlliecatViP11 October 2012 06:28:26

8790

Aurélie wrote:
Hello Alliecat.

Thank you for sharing these informations with us but can you please post the source of this article (preferably a link)?

Thank you,
Aurélie

http://news.yahoo.com/jeddah-shisha-smo … 40250.html

Hitch Serial expat

Member since 10 April 2011

HitchSerial expat11 October 2012 08:35:06

545

Wow , This is bad to see .

what else should we do now !!

RehabDoctor Serial expat

Member since 13 April 2012

RehabDoctorSerial expat11 October 2012 09:23:58

279

Good in a way for non smokers.

Alliecat ViP

Member since 13 October 2009

Alliecat
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AlliecatViP11 October 2012 09:27:57

8790

Actually, Rehab, the interesting thing about shisha is that when people smoke it--even right next to you--it's not offensive. I don't know why but it doesn't choke the 'innocent bystanders'!

However, as for the shisha smokers, I've read it's more toxic than smoking cigarettes.

RehabDoctor Serial expat

Member since 13 April 2012

RehabDoctorSerial expat11 October 2012 09:37:33

279

Alliecat wrote:
Actually, Rehab, the interesting thing about shisha is that when people smoke it--even right next to you--it's not offensive. I don't know why but it doesn't choke the 'innocent bystanders'!

However, as for the shisha smokers, I've read it's more toxic than smoking cigarettes.

I do not have personal experience but its definitely not good. Personally don't like any type of smoking. But its a personal choice.

Alliecat ViP

Member since 13 October 2009

Alliecat
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AlliecatViP11 October 2012 10:25:21

#10

8790

RehabDoctor wrote:
Alliecat wrote:
Actually, Rehab, the interesting thing about shisha is that when people smoke it--even right next to you--it's not offensive. I don't know why but it doesn't choke the 'innocent bystanders'!

However, as for the shisha smokers, I've read it's more toxic than smoking cigarettes.

I do not have personal experience but its definitely not good. Personally don't like any type of smoking. But its a personal choice.

I agree. I don't smoke either. But lots of restaurants in the Middle East (I'm thinking in Turkey/Jordan, probably others) will set up shisha for customers .. so *you're* eating dinner and somebody comes in and is sat at the table next to you to smoke shisha! The first time this happened I was prepared to be outraged (!!!) but I couldn't even smell it.

Freshlikesushi ViP

Member since 14 March 2012

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FreshlikesushiViP11 October 2012 11:07:55

#11

1455

Hitch wrote:
Wow , This is bad to see .

what else should we do now !!

if you are saying that in JEDDAH....you need to get out more bro

Alliecat ViP

Member since 13 October 2009

Alliecat
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AlliecatViP11 October 2012 14:51:15

#12

8790

Freshlikesushi wrote:
Hitch wrote:
Wow , This is bad to see .

what else should we do now !!

if you are saying that in JEDDAH....you need to get out more bro

He just needs a new bad habit, that's all