No Shisha? Hookah Banned in French City of Beziers

The city's authorities believe that smoking hookah is bad for health and creates gatherings that give a "bad image."

Smoking shisha will be banned this summer in the southern French city of Beziers due to an order from Mayor Robert Menard. The city council has banned smoking shisha in public places until the end of September. The official announcement was made on the city's Twitter page.

🚭 Pas de chicha, chiche?
Pour le bien-être et la santé de ses habitants, la Ville de #Béziers interdit désormais de fumer la "chicha" (ou narguilé) dans l'espace public en période estivale (du 01/05 au 30/09).
Pour un véritable #VivreEnsemble! pic.twitter.com/BqdNhmv4mD

— Ville de Béziers (@VilleDeBeziers) June 18, 2018

​Places where smoking shisha is forbidden include outside schools and religious buildings, sports and cultural facilities, as well as in public parks.

To justify the decision, Mayor Robert Menard told Midi Libre, a French daily newspaper, that "smoking shisha is really bad for health." In addition to health reasons, Robert Menard also believes that the consumption of shisha outdoors leads to gatherings that do not "promote living together" and that give an "image of the city we do not want."