Ninth floor Raddison hotel shisha bar owner found guilty of 14 charges

By Claudia Lee

The owner of a shisha bar on the ninth floor of a Raddison hotel has been found guilty of 14 charges over how it was run.

Greenwich council has successfully prosecuted a restaurant that operated as a shisha bar for flouting smoking and fire safety regulations.

Adam Aslam, who runs Nine Lounge, pleaded guilty to 14 personal and company charges, fines and costs totalled £6,035.

Nine Lounge, which is located in the hotel on the Greenwich Peninsular, was selling shisha to customers to smoke indoors.

However, since July 1, the 2007 the Health Act made all indoor public places, workplaces and work vehicles smoke free.

Councillor Ann-Marie Cousins, cabinet member for community safety and enforcement, said: “Shisha smokers are at risk of the same kinds of diseases as cigarette smokers, such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and problems during pregnancy.”

Second hand smoke from shisha pipes is also dangerous because it contains harmful substances like carbon monoxide and toxic chemicals.

The council wrote to Aslam at the start of the year and advised him to stop his selling shisha, but he persisted.

During a visit in April, the council’s trading standards officers found customers were smoking inside and staff were using shisha inside the kitchen.

Cousins said: “We would always rather work with shisha bars to ensure they operate legally rather than prosecute them.”

Pictured top: Nine Lounge on the ninth floor of the Raddison Red hotel in Greenwich Peninsular (Picture: Greenwich council)