Sheesha shops not affected by excise tax

Manama : Coffee shops offering tobacco products, mainly Sheesha, to their customers in Bahrain were hardly impacted by the excise tax, 48 hours after it came into effect.

As reported earlier by DT News, the new taxes were levied by the Government on Saturday, imposing a 100 per cent tax on tobacco products and energy drinks, and 50 per cent on soft drinks, which were considered as “harmful products” by Finance Ministry here and in fellow GCC countries.

DT News visited a number of coffee shops that are famous for offering Sheesha, aka hookah or hubbly bubbly, in different parts of the Kingdom yesterday.

From Adliya to Isa Town, Riffa, Hamad Town and Amwaj, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary in the coffee shops according to their customers, managers and workers, as the prices remained the same not only for the Sheesha, but also for the soft drinks.

“We were informed that the suppliers have raised the prices. But our stocks of molasses (sheesha tobacco)  have not finished yet. We are not planning to increase the prices of the sheesha immediately, considering the comfort of our customers. It’s too early to decide now. We shall wait and see how things will develop,” a person in charge of a coffee shop in Adliya told DT News while speaking on basis of anonymity.

As for the customers, their answers varied when asked about if the change in prices would change their smoking habits.

Majority of answers received mentioned that “it’s a personal decision whether or not a person should quit smoking” adding that “money wouldn’t be a barrier for someone who’s attached to a certain habit”.

Nawaf Khalid, an IT specialist and a regular sheesha smoker had a different opinion. He said that he will rethink his daily smoking habit along with the increase of sheesha prices. “I wouldn’t pay more money so I harm myself,” Khalid told.

On the other hand, a citizen who preferred not to mention his name said, “We eventually accepted the increase of prices of several essential products and commodities in the past few years, as it will benefit the revenues of the country. This includes the price hike of petrol. But when it comes to smoking or harming oneself, it’s a personal decision. Such matters should be left for the people to decide.”

The views of coffee shops visitors and workers showed that the new taxes will not have an immediate impact on this sector.