City halts plans to ban hookahs, e-cigarettes until Ontario decides
Ottawa’s Board of Health has postponed its plan to ban e-cigarettes and water pipes in the hopes that upcoming amendments to Ontario’s smoking laws will include comprehensive regulation of the devices.
Health officials made the decision at a board meeting Monday night. They passed an action plan to focus on smoking prevention at the community level while calling on the provincial and federal governments to close legislation gaps.
“The (current provincial) legislation is very comprehensive for tobacco products, but what we’re seeing is there’s a lot of new devices, new substances that are coming out and the legislation is slow to catch up with it,” said Gillian Connelly, manager of health promotion and disease prevention at Ottawa Public Health.
The Ontario government announced in March proposed changes to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act and Electronic Cigarettes Act to better protect the public from second-hand smoke.
Those amendments could include banning the use of e-cigarettes and medical marijuana in public and in the workplace, but it is uncertain if the amendments will extend to a ban of non-tobacco combustible substances such as herbal shisha, which is used in hookahs.
“One of the biggest things we’re seeing is there’s misconceptions about the safety of (e-cigarettes and shisha),” said Connelly. “There’s no proper health warnings, labelling, packaging. People go out and purchase new products and actually don’t know what they’re getting.”
Vapours generated from e-cigarettes can contain toxins and carcinogens, while a hookah has some of the same carcinogens that tobacco cigarettes have, said Connelly.
“So we’re doing tailored awareness campaigns to increase knowledge of the risks associated with the use of water pipes and e-cigarettes,” she said.
Consultations by the health board with more than 1,300 Ottawa residents showed support for a ban on non-tobacco combustible substances.
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Alberta have already banned the public use of water pipes. Toronto banned hookah smoking in bars and lounges at the beginning of April.
In 2012, Ottawa prohibited tobacco smoking on restaurant and bar patios and terraces, and municipal properties such as parks, playgrounds, beaches and sports fields. That same year, the city also prohibited using water pipes and non-tobacco products on city property.
If changes to the provincial legislation fail to cover hookah pipes and e-cigarettes, Connelly said an Ottawa Public Health report will be presented to the health board in June to outline legislative gaps and local policy options.