SHISHA:

The Law

Overview of Regulations

All shisha cafes need to comply with strict smoking laws. Shisha can only be smoked in the open air where there is no roof or ceiling above the smoker. Shisha can also be smoked in some circumstances where there is a roof or ceiling, but only if at least half of the walls of the structure are open at all times. For example, two walls closed and two walls open is acceptable as long as 50% of the total wall area is open. Over-head awnings and gazebos are also acceptable as long as they have no walls.

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Shisha pipes, menus, and anything which shisha is served in such as a bowl, needs to have the same written health warnings and pictures that are on cigarette packets. For herbal shisha (non-tobacco) products that are served, the same principle applies with a modified text.

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Advertising any tobacco product, including tobacco or non-tobacco (herbal) shisha, is limited to a single A5 sign at the point of sale. The sign must include the warning ‘Smoking kills’ or ‘Smoking seriously harms you and others around you’. This means shisha cannot be advertised on social media, and there can not be a display containing a shisha pipe or shisha brand which is visible from outside the premises. You cannot also advertise shisha with the effect of promoting shisha tobacco products in any way, such as offering free offers or student discounts.

It is an offence to sell shisha tobacco or herbal shisha to anyone under the age of 18. If you think someone is under-age you need to ask them for proof of age. An A3 sign saying “it is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18” must be displayed. The letters must be at least 36mm in height. Local authorities often provide these signs on request or you can buy them online. The social nature of shisha smoking means that it can be difficult for cafes to prevent under 18s from smoking shisha. We advise cafes to stop all under 18s from entering the smoking area, with a sign saying ‘NO ADMITTANCE FOR ANY PERSONS UNDER 18’ and age verification of all those appearing to be underage.

Shisha cafes have a duty to ensure the safety of staff and customers. The smoking of shisha in a social setting carries a high risk of transmission of diseases. Users should not share pipes and be provided with one pipe and a disposable hose and mouthpiece for themselves, in addition to remaining at least one metre apart from other users. The shisha pipe should be started by the customer, rather than staff. Cafe owners must consider the number of users who can safely smoke on their premises at any one time, and place restrictions on customer numbers and group sizes. Care must be taken to thoroughly sterilise pipes between users, including inside the pipe. In addition, shisha smoking requires repetitive hand-to-face movements, increasing the risk of a virus entering the body. As a typical shisha ‘session’ is one hour long, users must take extra care to rigorously wash their hands for 20 seconds prior to and after smoking and avoid contact with contaminated surfaces.

Shisha cafes can only sell products which are on the gov.uk list here. Shisha tobacco products that can be sold are limited to AI-Fakher and AI-Nakhla brands. Anything else is illegal, including homemade shisha. You can also only sell shisha tobacco that has been legally imported into the UK. Anything illegally imported can be seized by Trading Standards, HMRC, or excise duty on shisha tobacco and non-tobacco (herbal) shisha is £144.17 per kilogram (correct as of May 2022). If you import shisha products yourself or via the internet, the responsibility for paying the excise duty will be yours.  Keep invoices (or copies) of tobacco products on the premises.

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