City’s proposed hookah use ban loses steam

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This article was published 16/01/2024 (657 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A potential ban on public hookah use appears set to be snuffed out, amid warnings it could put the City of Winnipeg at risk of a legal challenge and lead it to be accused of discrimination.

On Tuesday, council’s executive policy committee voted not to develop a bylaw that bans public hookah use indoors and on patios, such as at local lounges.

Instead, it voted to ask the province to amend the senior government’s Smoking and Vapour Products Control Act to include the shisha used in hookahs among its list of prohibited products.

The vote, which would require final council approval, came after a lawyer representing hookah business owners told EPC members the city was at risk of discriminating against a specific community.

“The recommendation before you specifically targets a marginalized ethnic community… These business leaders have brought this cultural practice of hookah to Winnipeg. And it is wrong for the EPC and the city to specifically target a marginalized ethnic group for differential and worse treatment than it provided others,” said Troy Harwood-Jones.

In traditional hookah use, the multi-pronged water pipe can be used to smoke shisha, a mixture of tobacco and molasses, sugar or fruit. It is a social activity common elsewhere in the world, including the Middle East and India.

While the Manitoba government has banned smoking and vaping tobacco in indoor public places, Winnipeg restaurants are able to operate as hookah lounges by offering customers the choice of smoking tobacco-free shisha.

However, supporters of the proposed ban, which was approved by council’s community services committee, argue the city doesn’t have an inspection process to track which substances are used for smoking in the lounges.

Harwood-Jones noted provincial smoking bans make exemptions for hotels, tobacconist and vape shops, as well as Indigenous cultural practices, which he said indicates there are safe ways the businesses could continue.

“If it’s safe for hotels and it’s safe for tobacconists, then it can be done safely by our members’ cafés,” he told media, noting separate, well-ventilated rooms could help protect against second-hand smoke.

For example, the Smoking and Vapour Products Control Act allows an exemption for tobacconist shops to let a proprietor, employees and customers smoke to test or sample a product — as long as clear standards are met to enclose, separate and ventilate the affected space.

Harwood-Jones said businesses could consider legal action if the City of Winnipeg put its proposed ban in place.

“Right now, our instructions are to work with the city. However… if our members businesses are being banned and they’re being put out of business, they may come to me and ask for what remedies the courts and the law provides to them.”

By contrast, some delegates pushed councillors to implement a ban, arguing hookah use poses a significant public health risk.

“Hookah smoke, whether it includes tobacco or not, is toxic. There is no safe level of exposure… The (World Health Organization) estimates that a one-hour hookah session is equivalent approximately to smoking 100 cigarettes,” said Neil Johnston, president of the Manitoba Lung Association.

Coun. Evan Duncan, chairman of community services, said he still believes the practice should not be allowed inside public spaces. “I think this was decided upwards of 20 years ago that smoking indoors is no longer socially acceptable because it’s a public health issue.”

The councillor noted the province could opt to officially exempt hookah businesses, as it has done for others, though he would prefer it be banned.

Duncan stressed public health must be considered the city’s top priority in the matter. “The argument that was made by the delegation today about (a ban) being discriminatory, that argument was also made for cigarette smokers back 20 years ago.”

When asked about claims a ban could be deemed discriminatory, Mayor Scott Gillingham said: “The (city’s) focus has always been the health component of consuming vaping products and the hookah pipe. It’s always been around health, and only been around health, and I think that’s really, really important to articulate once again.”

The mayor said he feels it is appropriate for the province to deal with the matter, since it offers related legislation.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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