If you want to run a shisha business
If you run a business that supplies shisha in water pipes, you need to follow several different laws, including:
- smoking
- planning
- health and safety
- trading standards
- food safety
If your business also sells drinks and food you will need to register as a food business.
We will inspect your premises and take action if we think these laws are not being followed.
What you can sell
You can only sell shisha tobacco products which have been legally imported into the UK. We will want to see evidence that they are legal. Make sure that you:
- Keep invoices for products in the building as we may need your suppliers’ details. If you paid less than £85 per kg, the products will not be legal.
- Ensure the packages have the same warnings on them that you see on a cigarette packet. If they haven’t, they’re not legal.
- Pay import tax. If you import the products yourself (in person or online), where there are other laws you must follow.
If you cannot find a legal source of shisha tobacco, you will only be able to sell herbal shisha legally.
Who shisha can’t be sold to
You must not sell tobacco to anyone under 18 years old. Shisha customers normally share pipes, so you must check the age of everyone smoking. It might be sensible to not allow people who are underage into the premises.
To make sure your business does not sell to under-18s, you need to:
- Ask some customers to prove their age. The best way to do this is to ask for valid ID from anyone who might be under 25 years old.
- Train your staff so that they know the law and what action to take; staff are personally responsible if they sell to someone who is underage.
- Keep a written record of refusals so you know who has been refused entry before and check it regularly to make sure staff are following the law.
Shisha and the law for bar owners
The law classes smoking shisha as the same as cigarette smoking. It is illegal to smoke shisha in an enclosed or mostly enclosed public space.
If people are smoking shisha and your premises are enclosed, you are committing a criminal offence.
Owners and managers can face a fine of:
- Up to £2,500 for allowing smoking in a smoke free place
- Up to £1,000 for not displaying a non-smoking sign
To smoke shisha in an area with a roof, at least half the wall space must be open. If you want to make structural changes to your premises to allow shisha smoking, you must refer to our planning department for advice.
Making sure staff and customers are safe
There are additional risks that come with supplying shisha including infectious diseases, burning charcoal and spillages. If you employ five or more people you need to put the risks in writing. You will also need to train staff so they know how to control risks and act if something happens.
Take these extra risks into account when you fill in the fire risk assessment and emergency plan for your building.
You must also:
- Unlock fire exits and make sure they have clear, correct signs
- Clean and disinfect water pipe mouthpieces and hoses between uses - it is best to use disposable mouthpieces
- Make sure that staff use their own personal mouthpiece if they light the pipes, and put a clean one onto the pipe after
- Make sure there is enough ventilation to stop the build-up of dangerous levels of carbon monoxide
Warning signs for businesses
Your business must display large notices anywhere you serve tobacco, which say: “It is illegal to supply tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18.”
You will also need to label the water pipes that contain tobacco products with the same written and picture warnings that are on cigarette packs. As labelling pipes is difficult, we may accept other similar labels on menus, on cards given with the pipes, or displayed in the building instead.
What happens if you run a shisha business illegally
We will prosecute you. If you are licensed to sell alcohol, your licence might also be at risk.
If you do not follow the laws and regulations properly, we will visit you regularly to inspect the building, until you meet them.