L.L. 2017/190

Enactment date: 10/16/2017  

Int. No. 1075-A

By Council Members Rodriguez, Vacca, Rosenthal, Levine and Gentile

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring signage warning of the health risks associated with smoking shisha

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings. The Council finds that smoking is a leading cause of preventable premature death in New York City, killing thousands of New Yorkers every year and increasing the risks of lung cancer, heart disease, and many other health hazards.

Despite substantial progress in reducing both environmental smoke exposure and smoking rates among adults and youth, the use of water-pipes, or hookah smoking, is increasing and threatens the progress the City has made to reduce tobacco use by residents and visitors to the City. The Council finds that hookah smoking, regardless of whether the shisha contains tobacco, poses significant health risks to smokers and nonsmokers, including employees at establishments that serve hookah. Studies show that hookah smokers often poorly understand or underestimate the associated risks, particularly youth users. Common misconceptions regarding hookah include the following: shisha does not contain tobacco, shisha is not addictive, water filters out harmful chemicals, and hookah smoking is a healthy alternative to cigarettes. Based on the effectiveness of health warnings in other settings, the Council finds that health warnings in establishments serving hookah are an effective way to educate consumers about the risks associated with smoking hookah. Placing these warnings inside establishments serving hookah may correct common misperceptions regarding these risks.

The Council hereby declares that this local law responds to the significant health hazards posed by hookah smoking by providing for factual warnings and education on the health hazards posed by hookah smoking.

* * *

[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

* * *

§ 3. This local law takes effect 180 days after it becomes law, except that the department of health and mental hygiene may take such actions, including the promulgation of rules, as are necessary for the timely implementation of this local law, prior to such effective date.