Muscat Municipality temporarily suspends issuing licences for new sheesha cafes

Muscat: Muscat Municipality has temporarily suspended issuing licences for street vendors, sheesha cafes and tobacco sales activities.
According to the Muscat Municipality, the decision comes based on the Royal Decree No. 38/2015 and the Local Ordinance No. 1/ 2006 as part of public health protection.
Previously, the Ministry of Regional Municipalities had also passed a law ordering sheesha restaurants to be located at least 200 metres away from residential neighbourhoods, educational institutions and places of worship. This step was highly appreciated by both the locals and expatriates living in the country as well as the healthcare professionals.
“It is well known that tobacco is causing a lot of health issues, not only for the smoker, but also for the person nearby. Suspending tobacco sales activities and sheesha licences will definitely raise some awareness among people and help reduce the burden on society of diseases caused by tobacco,” a family doctor at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital said.
He added that the temporary suspension is not enough to curb the use of tobacco, but it will bring about changes in the long term.