Smoking ban: DCO to explain how cafes are public spaces
Von cigarettesonline1, 15:44
Earlier, DCO Noorul Amin Mengal told the court that all places other than private residences were public places, and smoking was prohibited at all public places. The chief justice, unsatisfied with the answer, directed the DCO to submit a detailed reply on the question at the next hearing on November 5. He also directed the DCO to consider whether an open space within the premises of a cafe or restaurant constituted an public place. The DCO also accused cafes of serving drugs to customers.
The petitioners have accused the city government of launching a selective crackdown on smoking in public by targeting sheesha cafes, while making no effort to stop other kinds of smoking at restaurants, government offices and transport terminals.
Shehzad Shaukat, the counsel for sheesha cafe owners, submitted that the government crackdown had badly hurt their businesses. He said that there was no evidence that sheesha smoking was harmful for health, nor was sheesha tobacco a prohibited substance.
He said there was no justification for taking action against the petitioners. He said that the cafes had designated smoking areas, some of them outdoors. He said if sheesha smoking was not allowed at cafes, smoking was not allowed at the court buildings and the office of the advocate general. Yet there had been no effort to penalise smokers there. “Why does this ban start at cafes?” he asked.
Shaukat asked the court to direct the government not to act against sheesha cafes. A lawyer for the provincial government said that sheesha smoking was harmful for health, especially for young people. He said that sheesha, apart from harming their health, was also harming the morals of young people. He said that smoking was banned at all public places including cafes and restaurants.
