Following the instructions of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana, the drugs control department of Haryana has initiated a raid against the Hooka Bars selling nicotine contained products and other intoxicants, throughout the state.

After conducting raids in 66 hooka bars in several parts of the state, the director of drugs control Dr G L Singhal said his officials have seized 102 samples of tobacco molasses containing nicotine. The test reports of 92 samples showed presence of the intoxicant.

Apart from sampling, FIR has been registered against the Hooka Bars in Panchkula (five cases), Ambala (two cases), Panipat (two cases) and Faridabad (one case).

The cases were registered under section IPC 188, 270/272/273/284 and Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA).

Dr Singal said action under Cr. PC 144 has also been taken against Hooka Bars located in Rohtak, Panchkula, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Panipat, Ambala, Hisar, Kurukshetra and Fatehabad districts.

Investigations at manufacturing premises of tobacco molasses, which are being used at these hooka bars, have been conducted by a two member team of drug control officers along with the officers of concerned from Moradabad (UP), Chandigarh (UT) and Mumbai (Maharashtra). Prosecution permission in 27 cases have been issued to the investigating officers for filing cases against the offenders under Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 & Rules 1945. More than 10 cases have been filed in various courts under the D&C Act against the violators, Dr Singal told Pharmabiz.

He said Haryana is the first state in the country which can be termed soon as hookah-bar free state. The efforts of the state government in this regard were appreciated in the state level advocacy workshop held on 27.4.2012 at Panchkula. This advocacy workshop was convened by the WHO and Government of India jointly, wherein states of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and the UT participated.

Lalith Goyal, ADC at Gurgaon said hooka bar is the biggest menace in Haryana against which the drugs control department is initiating actions for years.