By Andrew MacAskill
Turkish restaurants in Islington may be forced out of business when the new smoking legislation comes into force in July.
Middle Eastern restaurant owners across the borough have joined a national campaign to make shisha exempt from the incoming legislation.
Shisha is a stand-up water pipe device used to smoke flavoured tobacco, popular in the Arab community. It will be outlawed along with cigarettes and cigars in bars, restaurants and coffee shops.
Akala-Ali, who runs the Café Gallipoli on Upper Street, is encouraging his customers in his restaurant to sign a petition on the Number 10 website calling for shisha to be excluded from the ban. The petition has received 1500 signatures so far.
Customers pay eight pounds to smoke a pipe in the Café Galliopli and Mr Ali is concerned the loss of income will ruin his business.
He said: “This time next year I don't know what I will do, or if the restaurants will be open. People come to the restaurant in order to smoke shisha and an important source of income is from shisha.”
The owner of the Café Bazaar restaurant on Caledonian Road, Omeed Naziori, is also concerned about the impact of the ban and argues smoking shisha should be exempt because it less harmful than inhaling smoke from cigarettes.
“Smoking hookah contains less tobacco and nicotine than cigarettes, so it poses less of a danger,” Naziori said. “Forcing people to smoke shisha at home will increase exposes children and young people to the harms of secondhand smoke.”
The Department of Health disputes this. They claim shisha is worse for peoples’ health than cigarettes, saying that whereas a cigarette lasts around ten puffs, the average shisha session lasts 80 minutes, the equivalent of 100 puffs.
Ibrahim El-Nour, who co-ordinates a pro-shisha smoking campaign group is now considering bringing the ban to judicial review, on the grounds the government did properly consult the café owners and restaurant owners.
El Nour also argues it is a violation of his human rights, and banning smoking shisha will take away an important social activity for the Muslim community, who use it as an alternative to drinking alcohol, which is forbidden in Islam.
“To ban smoking shisha is an attack on a way of life for many Arab people.
Smoking shisha is a way for people from the community to come together,” he said. “Shisha is the equivalent of a pint in the pub. A nascent part of British culture will be lost if the ban stands.”
Wednesday, 21 March 2007
Shisha smoked out of Islington
Thursday, 8 March 2007
SPORT - Arsenal's European dream falls apart
By Andrew MacAskill
ARSENAL:1 PSV EINDHOVEN:1
(ON AGGREGATE 1-2)
ARSENAL'S hopes of winning any silverware this season were ended last night as PSV Eindhoven secured a draw at the Emirates Stadium, forcing the Gunners out of the Champions League.
The PSV defender Alex went from villain to hero: after scoring an own goal he redeemed himself eight minutes from the end, glancing home a header to send the Dutch side into the quarter-finals.
This is Arsenal’s third cup disappointment in eleven days, after losing the Carling Cup final to Chelsea on February 25 and being knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn days later.
Meanwhile, they are trailing 20 points behind Manchester United in the Premiership.
Having lost the first leg 1-0, Arsenal knew they needed to score at least two goals to progress.
In the first half they dominated possession, and spent most of the time camped around PSV’s penalty area.
Arsenal should have taken the lead after six minutes but Emmanuel Adebayor missed an opening when he failed to control a Cesc Fabregas cross just six yards out, and Gomes smothered the danger.
Kolo Toure was tormenting PSV and he tested Gomes with a fierce drive from just inside the area, before Adebayor headed wide from Gael Clichy’s cross.
Julio Baptista sent an acrobatic volley over the bar after Fabregas’s shot had deflected into his path, as Arsenal strove to find a way through PSV’s massed ranks.
PSV mounted a rare threat to Jens Lehmann’s goal after half an hour when Edison Mendez crossed. Phillip Cocu should have scored but only managed to glance the header across goal.
Arsenal were quickly back on the offensive and Baptista tried his luck with a spectacular bicycle kick from Aleksandr Hleb’s cross, but the Brazilian’s effort drifted wide of the goal.
Arsène Wenger’s side have made a habit of coming from behind at home this season and, with PSV’s lack of ambition inviting far too much pressure, an equaliser looked inevitable.
Yet when the breakthrough finally arrived in the 57th minute, it was due more to good fortune than to skill. Denilson sent in a corner that Gomes misjudged and Adebayor’s flick was turned
into his own net by Alex.
With the tie level on aggregate, PSV began to sense the need to attack, but that only opened up more space for Arsenal to go on the offensive.
Adebayor again should have put the hosts ahead, but he shot too close to Gomes after sprinting onto Fabregas’s pass, then the Spanish midfielder fired over from the edge of the area.
PSV were close to a vital away goal when Mendez flashed a low drive just wide. That was the signal for Wenger to send on Thierry Henry. Struggling to recover fully from foot and hamstring injuries, the Arsenal captain had only been named on the bench.
Henry’s first significant contribution was in the 78th minute, when he brought a fine stop from Gomes with a dipping free-kick. But Arsenal were hit with a sucker punch that left them down and out in the 82nd minute.
Wenger had warned his side to tighten up their set pieces, but that again proved to be their Achilles’ heel. With eight minutes to go, Mendez whipped in a free-kick from the left and Alex rose above Abou Diaby to plant a header past Lehmann that sent PSV into ecstasy.
“It’s a cruel night for us because we had the chances to score a second goal,” Wenger said. “We lacked a bit of sharpness and of course we lacked a bit of quality in the final third.”
Wednesday, 7 March 2007
SPORT - Olympic hopefuls thrown a lifeline
By Andrew MacAskill
THE NEXT British stars at the Olympic games could come from Islington after a judo club in the borough received thousands of pounds in Lottery funding.
The Budokwai Club on Gilston Road, which has already produced two Olympic athletes, will receive more than £15,000 to help renovate the gym.
The money will be spent on building a dojo (a purpose built judo room), and buying desperately needed new equipment, including mats and pads.
Ken Atkinson, the head coach of the club, said: "With the new money and the right commitment from the lads there are two or three who I think could compete in London in 2012.
"But even if they don't get there it will still be of tremendous benefit to hundreds of children who will be able to get fitter."
Chris Hyland, who trains the juniors, has praised Atkinson for helping to secure the money for the club.
"The investment was made because they knew he had a proven track record of producing great athletes," he said.
"He is the best trainer in the buisiness and this grant is a tribute to his commitment and perseverance."
Other Islington clubs will also receive money from Sport England, which is responsible for distributing Lottery money to sports organisations. The Islington Lawn Tennis Association will get £7,000 to resurface its courts and replace old equipment.
Rob Achille, the tennis development officer for Islington, said he hoped the investment will pay off so "in years to come Highbury will be remembered for a budding tennis champion as well as its football connections."
The Islington boat club, Islington Cardinals, a disabled football team and Islington squash club were also given similar grants by Sports England to improve facilities.
Joanna Robinson, the director of Sport England London, said: "These are clearly projects that are going to make a significant difference to the local population of Islington."
Despite accusations from community groups that the London Olympics will drain lottery money away from grass root sports in Islington, Mrs Robinson said the grants were evidence the borough is not losing out.
“Sporting clubs in Islington will continue to be well funded by Sport England and they will not lose out because of the Olympics,” she said.
However, Debbie Blake from Islington Voluntary Action Council, said until the government rule out the possibility of using further lottery to make up for a shortfall in the soaring costs of the games, sports clubs in the borough could miss out on funding in the future.