shisha bars toronto

Hookah ban in Toronto not a done deal yet

Hookah might be banned in Toronto, but many bars are still offering these water pipes to customers, reports the Toronto Star.

After Toronto's medical officer David McKeown released a report seeking to prohibit hookah from local businesses, city council voted last fall to ban them from Toronto establishments and this new bylaw came into effect on April 1 of this year.

According to the Star, however, the city licensing office is holding off ticketing businesses until July 1.

And, as the Toronto Star reports, four hookah bar owners in Scarborough are heading to court in June to dispute this bylaw.

"Our argument is that the [City of Toronto] act does not give the city the power to pass a bylaw that prohibits my clients from operating a lawful business anywhere in the city of Toronto. We say the bylaw puts them out of business," said the lounge owners' lawyer Ryan Zigler to the Star.

Do you still smoke hookah at Toronto bars? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Jesse Milns.


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