On July 1st 2007, the smoking ban in England and Wales comes into effect. The ban is to include shisha smoking in all restaurants and cafes. Some smart arse has started a petition on the PM's website to try and exempt shisha smoking from the ban.. 'cos you know, its 'cultural'!
Anyway, the point is, support the shisha and STOP THE MADNESS!!
Sign the petition and forward to everyone in the world!
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Shisha/Shisha cafes are different to pubs, restaurants, and other public places which are to be affected by the smoking ban in England and Wales, because of the simple fact that the sole reason of going to a shisha cafe, is for social smoking with friends and family. Non smokers do not go to shisha cafes. To ban shisha cafes from operating is not only to remove an integral, uniting, and contributory part of middle eastern and arabic culture from British society, but also to effectively remove the attraction and appeal of these areas (such as Edgware Road in London), thus having an added significant detrimental effect to the majority of local businesses situated within the local area who are not involved in the shisha smoking business, but who depend on this attraction to draw people to the local community. Help the local businesses, help the community, and help those who believe that the government is forcing regulation in a sector that is essentially a matter of choice and personal taste.
