Bahrain cracks down on sheesha-like toys
Citizens, expats urged to report products that promote smoking
Cairo: Bahraini authorities have launched an inspection drive against toys suspected of encouraging the habit of smoking among children.
The kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that it had conducted in conjunction with the Health Ministry the campaign on “sheesha-like toys” at the local market to monitor and confiscate products that violate a 2015 Gulf technical regulation for children’s toys and the kingdom's anti-smoking and tobacco law.
The ministry has called on all citizens and foreign residents of the kingdom to report the offending shops that deal in hazardous products for children and those promoting smoking.
Social media has recently reported and posted an image of a purported toy taking the shape of the hookah and producing colourful bubbles on blowing into the pipe.
The toy, labelled "My First Hookah", was said to target children above three years.
However, a verification of the image has shown it refers to a fake toy and that the image was the brainchild of a cartoonist, who is also an advertising executive in the US.