Anti-smoking advocate calls for shisha lounge ban

With Ottawa Public Health officials calling for aban on smoking in parks, beaches and outdoor patios, some health campaigners are pushing for shisha lounges to be added to the list.

Ottawa boasts 19 shisha establishments where hookahs the pipes used to smoke flavoured tobacco are provided for public use.

Pippa Beck is a policy analystat theNon-Smokers' Rights Association and she cites a number of concerns with the flavoured tobacco, including unreliable packaging, a lack of public awareness about what is actually being inhaled and its growing popularity among young people.

Beck said studies show water in a typical hookah pipe does not filter out carbon monoxide,small particlesand other byproducts of combustion.

"And smoke in the lungs is not a good thing," Beck said. "It's not good for health."

She also said the charcoal used to burn the sticky pads of flavoured tobacco contributes to poor indoor air quality, and patrons and staff are at risk for second-hand inhalation.

The practice of hookah smoking has long been popular in the Middle East. Beck said that issue has come up, but citing the anti-smoking campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s, she said cultures can change.

Beck said she hopes Ottawa will follow in Toronto's footsteps to perform indoor air quality testing in shisha establishments.