Tower Hamlets shisha bar owners fined

AN EAST END cafe has been fined for the third time in seven months after its customers were caught smoking shisha in the basement. Mohammed Abdul Kashim, owner of Caf� Fresh in Commercial Road in Whitechapel was forced to pay out �1,329 after being fou

AN EAST END cafe has been fined for the third time in seven months after its customers were caught smoking shisha in the basement.

Mohammed Abdul Kashim, owner of Caf� Fresh in Commercial Road in Whitechapel was forced to pay out �1,329 after being found guilty at Thames Magistrates Court for flouting smokefree legislation.

The cafe has been forced to pay-out a total of �2,719 to Tower Hamlets council after being caught three times since December last year allowing their customers to smoke the herbal tobacco in the basement.

Shakes Limited was also found guilty at the magistrates' court on July 23 after council officers and police raided the cafe in Bethnal Green Road and discovered the shisha pipes were being smoked inside.

Owner Babru Miah did not appear in court but was still ordered to pay out �2,121.

Shisha smokers inhale flavoured tobacco heated by coal which is mainly taken after dinner or socially in a caf�.

Tower Hamlets council claims it has collected thousands of pounds worth of fines and costs from illegal smoking dens since the smoking ban was introduced in England and Wales in 2007.

Cllr Shahed Ali, Lead Member for the Environment at the council, said: "The council, along with NHS Tower Hamlets, has been working tirelessly to stamp out illegal smoking dens in the run up to the summer holidays.

"It has been predominately younger people visiting and paying for the hire of shisha pipes. The idea that shisha is a safe alternative to cigarettes is a myth.