Phnom Penh governor on crusade to shut down shisha cafes

Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong said Tuesday he would shut down the shisha bars—where customers smoke flavored tobacco through large Middle-Eastern style water pipes—that have recently sprung up around the city. While the governor noted there was nothing illegal about the pipes or tobacco, he told the 400 officials at City Hall’s annual conference that they caused long-term health problems and so he was requesting permission from the government to close them down. … At Hookah Bar on Street 110 Tuesday, the owner, who would only be identified as Da, said that he had poured too much money into his bar, which opened about 10 months ago, to see it shut down. “I have spent more than $100,000 on this place, and I have done everything by the law, so how can they shut me down?” he asked. … Phon Sokhea, manager at Harem, a long-established shisha bar on the riverfront, said that young people had become increasingly interested in shisha but that they were not permitted in her bar. “In 2013, there are more and more customers who want to smoke shisha,” she said. “The customers are also getting younger and younger but if they look like students or wear uniforms, they cannot come inside,” she said, adding that Harem did not check I.D. cards. …

 Phann Ana and Matt Blomberg
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/phnom-penh-governor-on-crusade-to-shut-down-shisha-cafes-53247/