Brisbane restaurant fined for breaching anti-smoking laws

Customers of Gad's Charcoal Cuisine, at Upper Mount Gravatt in Brisbane's south, were able to hire hookahs - a type of stemmed water pipe often used for smoking herbal tobacco - and allowed to smoke cigarettes in its outdoor dining area.

But the restaurant found itself in the sights of the state's health inspectors after a series of complaints to authorities.

An inspection by an environmental health officer last month found customers were breaking the statewide ban on smoking in outdoor eating and drinking places by smoking at the venue. The ban has been in place since 2006.

Ibrahim El-Salakawy, trading as Gad's Charcoal Cuisine, was fined $3000 plus $824 in court costs in the Holland Park Magistrates Court on May 10 for breaching Queensland's Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act.

The restaurant is not the first to run foul of the state's anti-smoking laws, but the case has been one of the more glaring breaches.

Food businesses face fines of up to $15,400 for breaking the laws, while patrons can be fined up to $2200.

The Newman Government has decided to make an example of restaurants that breach anti-smoking rules by promoting successful prosecutions in a bid to send a message to others in the industry.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg urged people to report businesses they believed were in breach of tobacco laws.

Mr Springborg said staff needed to ensure their patrons were not smoking in outdoor eating and drinking areas.

"However, individual patrons need to share some of the responsibility too, as well as business owners and staff," he said.

"These laws are designed to protect Queenslanders' health and should not be taken lightly.

"The Queensland Government is committed to tackling the health hazards of smoking."

Several cafes overseas, including in the UK, have also been fined for breaching smoking laws by offering hookahs to customers.

Source: The Courier Mail, 17 May 2013