Saudi Arabia to issue licenses for shisha and smoking outlets after Ramadan

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JEDDAH — The Saudi higher authorities have approved regulations to issue licenses for cafes and restaurants offering shisha and other smoking products within and outside the peripheries of cities all over the Kingdom.

The Central Haram Areas in Makkah and Madinah will be excluded from opening of any tobacco smoking outlets.

The new regulation will come into force after the fasting month of Ramadan, Okaz/Saudi Gazette have learnt from well-informed sources. The fee for license will be fixed in accordance with the size and area of outlets without exceeding SR100,000 a year.

According to the sources, the proceeds from the collected fees will be spent to support the Ministry of Health in its anti-smoking programs as well as to combating adverse effects of smoking.

The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs will issue the necessary regulations and decisions to implement the collection of fees, including the fixation of the amount of annual fee, without exceeding SR100,000.

The sources pointed out that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs should coordinate with the concerned authorities to review all decisions and instructions related to the prohibition of issuing municipal licenses for the sale of tobacco products as well as to take the necessary measures in this regard.

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