A report set to be delivered to a council committee this week suggests the City of Calgary lump the smoking of shisha and water pipes in with current smoking bylaws.
It’s a move that would effectively smoke out dozens of Calgary lounges that sell and allow for the smoking of shisha — a herbal mixture or tobacco blend smoked in a water pipe — and leaves northeast Coun. George Chahal concerned.
“Health and safety is extremely important and we have to make sure all members of the public have a safe environment to go to,” he said, “but this is also a deep concern.
“Many cultural communities with shisha, particularly, is an important part of their socialization.”
While the recommended move, if approved, would see an 18-month implementation window to allow businesses to plan for the prohibition, Chahal said he’s concerned about the potential effect it could have on business owners.
“There’s many small businesses that operate in the City of Calgary that having their shisha bar is an important part of how they’ve been operating for years,” he said. “As we move forward with further legalization and opportunities in the cannabis industry for cannabis lounges, this is a concern on how we would deal with this moving forward, and if we’ve taken the right measures.
“I think there’s an opportunity to do some further engagement with the business community on this to see if there’s a way to find alternatives, rather than a complete prohibition.”
But the concern isn’t there for every business owner, as Kaleab Gebrhawrat, owner of Portico Shisha Lounge in the city’s southeast, said he isn’t concerned about the potential ban.
“To me, I don’t have any problem (with a ban),” he said, adding if the city imposes a prohibition on water pipes, there isn’t much that business owners can do. “Shisha is not good for you … (if) it’s banned from all the city, I agree with that.”
Gebrhawrat said the reason he began selling shisha for people to smoke at his lounge is because people want it.
“To me, I just sell it for the people, I don’t have income from shisha. There’s more income from the drinks.”
Representatives from other shisha lounges across the city declined to comment when contacted by Postmedia.
The city conducted a telephone survey of just over 1,000 Calgarians 18 years or older, in which 66 per cent of respondents said they supported allowing water pipe smoking in workplaces or restaurants like shisha lounges.
Across Canada, moves have been made to implement bans of shisha smoking indoors. Cities including Ottawa, Vancouver, and Toronto have all moved forward with bans that were later challenged in court but ultimately upheld.
Canadian cities aren’t the only ones who’ve issued bans, as New York City, New Jersey and Chicago have similar restrictions in place.
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