Salaries of Players Caught Smoking 'Shisha' To Be Cut By Saudi Soccer Club

Imposition of financial penalties on players caught smoking 'Shisha' is reportedly being done by a Saudi Arabian soccer club. Al Nasr, the UAE-based soccer team, claimed that its players would lose up to half of their salaries for breaking the rules and regulations of the club, after they were spotted smoking shisha in a coffee shop in Abu Dhabi, where they were taking part in a friendly tournament.

According to the Gulf News, the decision by the Riyadh-based team, formed in 1955, is in line with the protocols set by Saudi authorities to reinforce a ban on public smoking.

"We must stress that smoking is banned in all closed places, including coffee shops, restaurants, shopping malls and crowded areas. The ban extends to cigarettes and to shishas," Interior Minister Prince Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz, was reported, as saying.

Shisha, the single, or multi-stemmed instrument for smoking flavoured tobacco, is popular among young people, in line with a culture that is deeply embedded across the Middle East, the report said.

The negative effects of smoking on individuals and society in general have prompted several countries, including those where the large tobacco companies are based, to impose limitations on smokers, it added.

Source-ANI