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After discovering more than 20 sheesha pipes on tables in the cafe, a successful prosecution has been brought against the owners, Imran Khan and Abu Shahid.

On 6 June, Thames Magistrates Court District Judge Comyns fined them £1,000 each, and they were each also ordered to pay £500 towards the council's costs.

Tower Hamlets Lead Member for Cleaner, Safer, Greener, Councillor Abdal Ullah, said: "The law is designed to protect people from the serious health risks of second-hand smoke.

"Our smokefree teams have worked very hard to make sure that business understand what is required of them."

What is a sheesha?

The sheesha, or hookah, is a water vessel used to smoke fruit-scented tobacco through a hose. Despite protests that the practice is not as lethal as smoking cigarettes and cigars, it was included in the national ban on smoking in enclosed spaces, introduced in July 2007.

A World Health Organisation report on water pipe tobacco smoking stated that a typical hour-long session means inhaling 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled through a cigarette.

Officers found tobacco and water pipes

Even though the smoke passes through water it still has high levels of cancer-causing compounds.

Owners of La Sheesh, Khan and Shahid, pleaded guilty but said they believed they were exempt from the legislation under a provision for ‘specialist tobacconists’, which allow customers to briefly sample cigars and pipe tobacco.

But after questioning they both agreed that their customers were smoking pipes for up to an hour and this could not constitute ‘sampling’.

Tower Hamlets Council Environmental Health Commercial Team would like to hear of any public places or work places who continue to allow smoking in enclosed spaces. You can contact them on 020 7364 5008 or by email at smokefree@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

angela.saini@bbc.co.uk