As of today, smoking hookahs/water smoking pipes is now banned inside Toronto cafes

and bars.City council voted to ban the popular water smoking pipes last November, months

after a Toronto Public Health report argued the practice poses health risks.

Toronto's medical officer of health, David McKeown, suggested hookah smoking water

pipes vis especially dangerous for young people who may think it's a relatively safer form

of water glass smoking pipes than cigarettes.

It's unclear whether or not the dozens of hookah bars, including a cluster on Yonge

Street downtown, will comply with the new ban. Nor is it clear how the city plans to

enforce its new regulations.

Hookah lounge owners have argued the ban is discriminatory to those in the Middle

Eastern and North African communities, for whom smoking is a common cultural practice.

While council approved the ban 34-3, some councillors said they want a hookah lounge

permit, which would allow some cafes that don't sell alcohol to sell non-tobacco products

to people over 19.