Singapore: Shisha Smoking on Decline over Past 2 Years

Source from:  AsiaOne 11/13/2014

Those strolling down Arab Street two years ago could have pictured themselves in the Middle East, with loudspeakers blasting Arabic music and the aroma of spit-roasted shawarma meats in the air.

And spilling out onto the roadsides were patrons of overcrowded cafes and restaurants, who would sit at makeshift tables inhaling flavoured tobacco from brightly coloured water pipes.

Fast forward to today, and the street, which has become synonymous with shisha in Singapore over the past decade, is orderly.

Last year, the authorities revoked the outdoor smoking licences of 12 out of 23 shisha cafes in the area for allowing shisha smoking outside designated areas. Under the law, food establishments are allowed to have smoking areas of up to one-fifth of their outdoor refreshment areas.

There are now 16 licensed shisha retailers, with the majority in Kampong Glam. This is a far cry from the 49 in 2012.
A ban on the import, distribution and sale of shisha, which will kick in later this month, will allow existing retailers to sell the tobacco product until July 31, 2016.

Noting the gradual decline in shisha providers over the past two years, seven businesses, ranging from carpet shops to an outdoor gear retailer in the Arab Street area, told The Straits Times they were not surprised by the ban announced in Parliament last week.
They were also generally supportive of the move, citing the harmful effects of smoking.

But the first shisha retailer in Singapore, Cafe Le Caire's owner Ameen Talib, said: "The fact is that shisha brought a certain character to the area, led it to be known as an Arabic Quarter and added a certain vibrancy."

Dr Talib, 52, first received a tobacco retail licence from the Health Sciences Authority in September 2001, two months after opening his restaurant in the then sleepy Arab Street.

The former accountancy professor, a third-generation Arab Singaporean, said he wanted to rejuvenate the former Arab Quarter of colonial-era Singapore.

"When you walk around, you need to smell the aroma of kebab, the aroma of shisha. Visually, you need to see people sitting on the road relaxed, smoking shisha. You get the feeling you are in the Middle East. And you need to hear Arabic music as you walk down the road," he said.

Around 2007, shisha cafes started spilling out onto the streets, and the Land Transport Authority and National Environment Agency fined retailers and smokers over infringements.

As the problem worsened - with many cafes flouting the rules as the trade attracted hundreds of customers each week - the authorities started to revoke the tobacco retail licences of errant shops.

Shisha shops have said they will be badly hit by the ban. Shisha smokers also said they may stop patronising the Kampong Glam area. "It is pretty much the only reason that we come here," said Ms Serene Lim, 23, a university student who visits the area about once every two months.

But other businesses in the area, such as textile and carpet shops, supported the ban. Mr Saeid Labbafi, 45, a carpet shop owner and president of the One Kampong Glam Association, which aims to preserve Kampong Glam's heritage as well as promote cultural and business activities, was all for it.

"With the ban of shisha, if F&B operators concentrate on their food and if they improve the quality of their food, they will be able to win their customers back again," he said. Enditem