Afghanistan’s de facto authorities have carried out a new wave of public floggings in six provinces over the past three days, explicitly including punishments for trafficking and selling tobacco-related products like shisha.
According to the Taliban Supreme Court, 11 people in Kabul were publicly whipped on Monday (November 17) after being convicted of trafficking narcotic pills, alcoholic drinks, and shisha. Each received 39 lashes and faces prison sentences of up to one year. Additional floggings were also carried out for charges ranging from illegal relationships to theft.
The incidents are part of a wider rise in corporal punishment tracked by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA): a recent UN report recorded 242 public floggings from July to September.
These actions demonstrate the Taliban’s growing control not only over narcotics and “moral crimes,” but also over all products related to intoxicants and tobacco—including shisha—based on their interpretation of Sharia law. Although cigarettes and tobacco have long been heavily regulated, the public punishment of shisha-sellers shows that social tobacco practices involving non-combustible forms are now explicitly targeted.
For the tobacco and nicotine product industry, this acts as a warning: even in markets often seen as niche or informal (such as shisha lounges), regulatory actions can escalate quickly, moving from fines to physical punishments.
Companies, distributors, and regional trade partners should note that Afghanistan’s regulatory enforcement environment now covers non-cigarette tobacco products, with little tolerance for illegal trade. International human rights organizations continue to condemn flogging as cruel and degrading.
