could soon bring a stricter law to ban hookah bars inMadhya Pradesh. The state Home department has sent a draft to the law department asking for a stricter law, making provisions for punitive punishment for those running hookah bars in the state.
The proposal is to amend the existingCigarettesand Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade Act and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) COTPA Act 2003, to put a ban on hookah bars which have mushroomed across the state. Last year, the Jharkhand government amended the COTPA Act and made provisions to restrain combustible and smokeless cigarettes purchase and usage.