City council has voted overwhelmingly in favour of banning the use of hookahs at licenced establishments following a report from the Medical Officer of Health that raised concerns about the health risks posed by the water pipes.

Council voted 34-3 in favour of the motion Wednesday morning, effectively banning the estimated 60 to 80 hookah lounges that currently operate in the city.

The vote comes about five months after Toronto's Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown released a report that raised concerns about the increasing prevalence of hookah smoking, particularly among young people who he said are often unaware of its dangers.

"Hookah use in public places undermines the success of the Smoke Free Ontario Act and other smoke-free laws because it contributes to the social acceptability of smoking in public,” the report said.

The Board of Health initially recommended that the use of hookahs be banned by Oct. 1, however the matter was put over until the Nov. 4 council meeting and as a result the ban will now will go into effect on April 1.

After the vote Wednesday, Board of Health Chair Joe Mihevc tweeted his satisfaction with the outcome, calling it a great day for public health.

Meanwhile, Mayor John Tory told reporters that banning hookah use at licenced establishments just make sense given longstanding rules prohibiting smoking in business and other enclosed public places.

“We decided quite some time ago that we were not going to have smoking in restaurants, we were not going to have smoking in bars, we were not going to have smoking in offices and this is smoking,” Tory said. “The debate over what people are smoking is kind of in a way academic because I do accept the evidence put forward by the medical officer of health that anything you burn and inhale is not going to be good for your health.”

The three councillors who voted against the ban were Denzil Minnan-Wong, Jim Karygiannis and Giorgio Mammoliti.

Speaking with CP24 on Wednesday afternoon, Minnan-Wong said he decided to oppose the ban because he views hookah lounges as relatively harmless places.

“I don’t think it is a terribly big deal. There are a lot of hookah establishments in and around the community that I represent and it seems to be a fairly harmless thing. Certain groups go there and smoke the pipes quietly and drink fruit juice and play backgammon,” he said. “I have been to a few of them and they seem to be pleasant places. There is not loud music, a lot of fights or a lot of alcohol.”

Hookahs are used to smoke conventional tobacco or a flavoured tobacco product that is known as shisha.

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