Agenda item

Members were reminded that at the last meeting of the Committee, Members received evidence from a number of offices from within the Council, who explained their role in relation the controls which should be in place for Shisha Bars, Lounges and Cafes.

Reference was made to a report which had been commissioned by Westminster City Council which looked at the public health implications of Shisha Smoking.

The Committee discussed the appropriateness of the recommendations to Hillingdon and it was agreed that consideration should be given to the following recommendations and that for the next meeting of the Committee, officers provide comments on these suggestions.

1.LAs with a low number of shisha premises and mildly   perceived problem related to the shisha industry should develop a preventive approach to ensure uncontrolled proliferation of shisha premises does not occur.

2. Managers of shisha premises should be encouraged to learn management techniques and attend workshops in an attempt to prevent their customers from creating antisocial behaviour.

3. Shisha premises should be monitored for alcohol use inside the pipe. While this is currently legal, LA staff should be aware of this practice and report it.

4. Shisha premises should be monitored for recreational drug use and use of other illicit substances.

5. Shisha premises that have an alcohol license should be monitored for this.

6.  LAs should ensure they have adequate out of hours support for enforcing legislation on shisha premises, as non-compliance is likely to increase at unsociable hours of trading. 

[Officers suggested that the Committee could consider recommending that the Anti-Social Behaviour Investigation Team's Out of Hours service,  in partnership with Licensing Services, conduct regular patrols of existing & all new shisha premises to ensure compliance with legislation relating to nuisance & anti-social behaviour. These visits would also be utilised as an intelligence gathering tool to assist & support partner agencies across the enforcement services.

Also consideration could also be given to recommending that additional suitably qualified, and/or experienced regulatory staff from existing services were authorised to enable the service of Fixed Penalty Notices on individuals smoking in a smoke free place.]

7. Health warnings / Labelling of Shisha products is subject to legal requirements as with all tobacco products. The Trading Standards Service advises premises in the Borough on such matters in accordance to the guidance 'Implementation of smokefree legislation in England' produced jointly by the CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health) and CTSI (Chartered Trading Standards Institute).

8. Guidance and advice provided to shisha premises owners should include an emphasis on the current legal state of herbal (non-tobacco) shisha , that was it was covered by the Smokefree law, it can be sold to under eighteens, it was not liable for duty payments nor was it a requirement to display health warnings.

9. Environmental health officers should maximise communication lines via Health & Safety Liaison Groups and Health & Safety Quadrants to raise shisha issues with colleagues across London and encourage a more consistent enforcement approach.

10.A useful adjunct to evidence gathering was the use of carbon monoxide monitors. Whilst these should be used to ascertain the level of harm exposure in enclosed smoking venues, they could also be used to assess the quality of air outside shisha premises considering the large volumes of smoke (usually greater than one hundred litres per pipe per hour) produced by shisha smoking.

[Officers reported that CO monitoring was achievable. There were a number of CO monitors within the department which could be installed using existing Health and Safety powers. The Committee could possibly  recommend some targeted monitoring activities.]

11.Environmental health officers could consider using Health and Safety Prohibition Notices if prosecutions for breaching the Smokefree law were too labour intensive.

[Officers reported that would need to consult with liaison group and wider regulatory community on where or if in any circumstances Prohibition Powers have been used. The evidential test could include, for example confirming levels of CO in premises. This would require input from legal services.]

12.Shisha premises should be provided with case examples of dangerous health and safety scenarios from other premises in order to educate and emphasise the need to comply.

13. All LAs should include a suggested shisha pipe cleaning  protocol as part of general advice and guidance to shisha premises.

14. All LA staff members involved in enforcement against the shisha industry should be made aware of the full extent of powers currently held by planning enforcement officers, including the use of Planning Contravention Notices and Stop Notices, and employ these powers where necessary.

[Officers reported that consideration could be given to a recommendation to all regulatory service mangers concerned to contribute to a shared regulatory service document the purpose of which would be to instruct all staff of the range of enforcement powers available to the Council.

15. LAs should identify and collaborate with ethnic community groups to provide a well-targeted, multi-lingual approach to shisha educational campaigns. To avoid widening of inequalities, LAs should also run a general campaign in schools or at events. One particularly effective avenue could be through the existing activities of the Stop Smoking Services. These campaigns should be evaluated for impact.

16.Each enforcement officer should be trained on the health effects of shisha, especially areas surrounding herbal shisha, and contribute to health promotion activities whilst inspecting shisha premises. This underlies a need for public health staff and legislation enforcers to work closely.

17. Secondary schools and colleges should be encouraged to incorporate shisha smoking into existing tobacco awareness lesson plans.

18. All Stop Smoking Services should have their staff trained   on providing cessation advice for shisha smokers, especially in regions where shisha premises were particularly prevalent. At the moment, there was no evidence base on nicotine replacement therapy so intervention should include behavioural support only.

19. Shisha smoking prevalence should be incorporated on local and national health survey questions, including frequency and intensity of use, to gain better insight into smoking habits of the general population. Young people should also be asked about electronic shisha pipes as these appear popular in this age group.

20. In boroughs where resources were strained, prosecution should be a last resort and officers should liaise with other agents to maximise legislative powers including powers of closure. Focus should therefore be a reactive response with monitoring of high risk shisha premises.

21. LAs should seek to establish a positive and close relationship with shisha premises to encourage co-operation and compliance.

22. Powers of closure and seizure should extend to environmental health officers if resources do not permit for a synchronised, multi-agency approach.

23. All boroughs should have an advisory document which outlines all legislative aspects related to opening and operating a shisha premises. These should be standardised across London boroughs to promote a consistent message to shisha premises owners.

24. Due to the recurrent lack of compliance with legislation, LAs should consider periodical educational sessions/workshops/Q&A sessions for premises managers and staff. This could serve as an efficient way of educating shisha premises.

25. LAs should liaise with their neighbouring LAs prior to initiating shisha enforcement campaigns to ensure rebound mushrooming of the industry does not occur in neighbouring boroughs.

A number of comments from Council service areas were provided for the Committee which included details on possible initiatives and suggestions to control shisha smoking and to raise awareness of the dangers of shisha smoking.

Discussion took place on the Council producing Guidelines for Shisha Premises which could provide information on smoke free legislation, the health facts, the legal considerations of converting premises for Shisha smoking and Planning / Building Control, Trading Standards and Licensing implications surrounding Shisha Bars.

It was suggested that one of the recommendations of the review could be the production of guidelines which could cover some of the suggestions in the Westminster report.

Members asked that for the next meeting, officers be asked to provide an estimate on the number of Shisha Bars in the Borough.

RESOLVED –

1. That officers be asked to provide an at the next meeting of the      Committee, on the feasibility of the suggested recommendation outlined above.