Request for information on shisha cafes

Dear North Lincolnshire Council,

ShishaWatch (previously It’s Still Tobacco) is a volunteer-run industry watchdog. We monitor and survey the UK’s shisha industry and work with partners to understand the issues and find solutions, including around the legislative enforcement of shisha tobacco.

We would like to ask the following questions about your local authority area, where we define a "shisha cafe" as any premise where the sale and consumption of shisha tobacco occurs on site, and can include restaurants, clubs, lounges, cafes, and other venues. Please ensure these questions are answered jointly by Environmental Health and Trading Standards.

Q1. Please provide the estimated number or range of shisha cafes known as of January 2024.
Please reply "unknown" if this information is not held.

Q2. a) Please state the number of prosecutions made for violations of the smoke-free law in 2023.
b) How many of these violations were by shisha cafes?

Q3. a) Please state how many inspections were made to shisha cafes by Trading Standards, Environmental Health, or other officers in 2023.

b) Of these inspections, how many shisha cafes required intervention due to lack of compliance with policies (including tobacco, health and safety, and licensing laws) in each of the years listed above?

c) Of these inspections, approximately how many kilograms of illicit shisha tobacco were seized in total?

d) Of these inspections, how many led to successful prosecutions and what was the total amount ordered to pay from the shisha cafe business?

Q4. Please state the number of reports of underage smoking at shisha cafes in 2023.

Q5. Please state the number of complaints made for noise and nuisance against shisha cafes in 2023.

Many thanks,

Zainab Hussain
ShishaWatch