African restaurants are planning to shelve traditional attractions in the wake of the smoking ban.

Restaurant owners said shisha or hookah pipes would be left as merely decorations to hang on walls after the new law comes into effect next year.

The ban will mean the end of shisha cafs, whose clients are mainly Muslims and use shisha as an alternative to drinking alcohol, forbidden in Islam.

But also the use of the pipes in ordinary restaurants which serve hookahs for smoking fruit-flavoured tobacco as a dessert option.

Sherry Eskici, who owns the Mascara Restaurant in Western Road, Brighton, with her sister Bita, said: "I don't think it's very good but what can we do?

Smoking shisha is very popular here so its going to be a real shame to lose it.

"People mainly smoke apple here and the fragrance is very nice. It's not like cigarette smoke that fills the room.

"We have many who come especially for the shisha. It's one of the attractions of this place. But the ban won't have an affect on takings."

Smoking will be banned in all enclosed public spaces such as pubs, cinemas and restaurants from July 1, 2007, after MPs voted for the new law in February.

People will still be able to smoke outdoors and in their homes but calls for private clubs and pubs serving food to be exempt were rejected.

Adel Alami, owner of Cous Cous House, Preston Street, Brighton, said: "We don't charge people for smoking shishas, its just something to give people a taste of the tradition of the food they are eating. It will be a shame to lose it because people enjoy it, but I'm not a smoker so I'll be happy. It gives people a flavour of the Middle East but we don't have it in Morocco any more either because its been banned there too."

Others said they thought the ban was unfair as the traditional pipes have less harmful effects.

Bita Eskici said: "Smoking I understand because that's really bad for you but shisha doesn't have all the chemicals that cigarettes have. It's just tobacco leaf pressed with fruit.

"Our customers are going to miss it. We may still display the pipes but obviously we won't be serving it any more. It's a shame.

"A lot of our customers who smoke go outside but they won't be able to do that with the shisha. We just don't have the facilities.

"There's no way we can carry on using the shisha here."

Health campaigners said it was inevitable hookahs would be banned along with cigarettes because they too produce harmful smoke, despite filtering it through water.

Amanda Sandford, of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: "There are a lot of myths around shisha smoking but it could be worse than smoking cigarettes.

"A water pipe smoker may inhale as much smoke as a someone smoking 100 cigarettes because they smoke for longer. The inhalation of smoke is far greater and there are enough studies to show there are short-term health consequences."

As the ban approaches, hospitals are also preparing to make their facilities smoke-free zones.