The ACMA has found that Radio 2ME 1638AM was not in breach of tobacco advertising prohibitions when it broadcast a commercial for an arguileh lounge.

The commercial, although only being played once and in the Arabic language, raised concern when it mentioned the registered business name, Laytani Arguileh Lounge, as the word ‘arguileh’ is an Arabic term for a ‘hookah’. 

In their investigation the ACMA pointed out that the word ‘arguileh’ was used twice in the context of naming the registered business the commercial was promoting. Beyond this, the ACMA said that the commercial “featured the types of food available, the ambience and the family-friendly environment of the restaurant” but “beyond use of the word ‘arguileh’ in the registered business name, there is no promotion or mention of the venue being associated with any specific tobacco product or smoking in general”.

Using standard investigation procedure, the ACMA concluded that because the ‘resaonable listener’ of 2ME would not associate the use of the term ‘arguileh’ in a registered business name as endorsing smoking or the use of tobacco products, the station was not breaching tobacco advertising prohibitions and thus their license conditions. 

The full ACMA report can be viewed here.