The Shura Council yesterday pulled out of a key vote on plans to open tobacco manufacturing factories in Bahrain.
The issue will now be taken up in October when the National Assembly reassembles after a five-month recess.
In March, Parliament had stubbed out government plans to set up a multi-million dinar tobacco manufacturing plant in the kingdom.
This was despite a parliamentary committee giving the nod only days earlier.
Twenty-nine MPs had voted against amendments to the 2009 Anti-Smoking Law with only four in favour, while the remaining six present of the 40 MPs declined to cast a vote.
One MP was absent.
The Shura Council’s services committee backed its parliamentary counterpart in rejecting the plans for tobacco cultivation.
However, it recommended that the opportunity presented by the new manufacturing plant was too good to miss out on. It stipulated, though, that any tobacco product made in Bahrain should be for export only, and not local consumption.
The committee also overturned a ban on the import, production and distribution of juices for e-cigarettes and e-sheesha.
Committee chairwoman Dr Jihad Al Fadhel told the GDN following yesterday’s extraordinary session that the issue required an in-depth review with the authorities concerned and MPs.
“Everyone has to be convinced that whatever the way forward, it is for the good of the country,” she added.
“The country’s good, however, is subject to opinion.”
Parliament and the Shura Council will be in recess until the second week of October.
However, all committees will continue to work.
Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani last month told the committee: “In the past, Bahrain was known as the regional hub for tobacco products, with moasil – a ‘sheesha tobacco’ – being the most famous.
“Today, our Bahraini-flavoured moasil is being imported from countries like the UAE, Egypt and Jordan. It is being sold using our traditional name tag across the world,” he added.
“We have received requests from some investors, here and abroad, to open tobacco manufacturing factories in Bahrain, pledging investments of more than $300 million and offering 400 jobs for Bahrainis, which would be 98 per cent of the total workforce.
“This move would also help our logistics, shipping and cargo sectors.”
The minister added that opening up the sector to investors would also help generate revenue for the government and build necessary infrastructure that others could benefit from.
“The infrastructure surrounding the area would ensure electricity and water projects are built amongst other infrastructure,” he explained.
Health Ministry officials told the Shura’s services committee that juices were not considered tobacco under The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
“We don’t have control over juices since it is not considered tobacco, but that doesn’t mean we cannot monitor the content,” they added.
“The ministry also inspects cafés and restaurants serving sheesha to ensure they follow service rules and violators are referred to the Public Prosecution.
”The Bahrain Anti-Smoking Society said allowing tobacco manufacturing would lead to an increase in the number of smokers.
Currently, an estimated 28pc of the total Bahraini adult population smokes tobacco products, just under a third of the population.
This compares with 15.1pc of US adults and 25.5pc in the UAE.
The government announced earlier that the biggest investment would be a $200m packaging factory.
MPs and the government have been at loggerheads over the suggested legislation for around 19 months.
In December 2019, Parliament asked for a study on the pros and cons of allowing tobacco cultivation in the country.
However, the GDN reported in July last year that the services committee was not impressed with the findings, insisting on full details of the proposals, such as the location and size of plantation fields and their production capacity.
Bahrain’s Cabinet and the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission earlier expressed their support to the plans for tobacco plantations and production.
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