RAK introduces new ban on smoking

Ras al-Khaimah has become the latest emirate in the UAE to bring in a ban on smoking in public places.

The regulation, which came into force on Sunday, follows a similar ban on smoking in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and is designed to protect the health of non-smokers from the threat of passive smoking.

Violators of the ban which applies to hotels, restaurants, cafes, shopping malls, sports halls, men and women’s salons and other enclosed public places, would be fined 5,000 dirhams ($1,300) or more, Mubarak Ali Al Shamsi, chairman of Ras Al Khaimah Municipality told UAE daily Khaleej Times on Tuesday.

Special rooms would be designated for smokers, especially in hotels and shopping malls, he said.

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