Shisha cafes in Oman facing enforced relocation

Omani authorities recently announced stricter regulations on outlets serving shisha.

Under the new rules, shisha cafés must be at least 200 metres away from residential areas, and government, education, health and religious buildings - otherwise they will be ordered to relocate.

Other stipulations include restaurants that serve shisha in hotels must not be located at the main entrance and should have a separate entrance from outside the hotel.

The restaurant needs to be fully enclosed, with proper ventilation, and not be visible to visitors, reports Gulf News on the new rules.

Restaurants also need to display signs stating that smoking shisha is only permitted for people over the age of 18.

Additionally, workers who prepare shisha are not allowed be involved in preparing food, and should wear a different uniform.

A two-year grace period has been given to restaurants in order to comply with the new regulations.

According to research carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the volume of smoke inhaled in an hour-long shisha session is estimated to be the equivalent of smoking between 100 and 200 cigarettes.

The estimated findings go on to show that, on average, a smoker will inhale half a litre of smoke per cigarette, while a shisha smoker can take in anything from just under a sixth of a litre to a litre of smoke per inhale.