Hookahs could go the way of cigarettes, cigars and pipes if Utah health officials approve a ban on smoking heated tobacco in popular bars and other public places.

Health officials argue secondhand smoke from hookahs is just as dangerous as that of other tobacco products, which state law already prohibits in public indoor spaces. That includes all bars.

"There are harmful effects from the secondhand smoke from hookahs," Utah Department of Public Health spokesman Steve Hadden said Monday. "Just because it's an adult place doesn't mean it's any less harmful."

Two Utah counties have banned hookah smoking in public, although neither county had any businesses that offered hookahs at the time of the bans. Other public health officials have asked the state for a clarification about whether smoking hookahs, in which tobacco is sometimes mixed with flavorings, violates the indoor smoking laws.

The ban would not prohibit hookahs outright, only tobacco in the hookahs, Hadden said. There are non-tobacco options available and those would still be legal.

There are a number of bars and restaurants that offer hookahs in the state, primarily in Salt Lake City and surrounding suburbs. They include sushi bars, Middle Eastern restaurants and social clubs.

In its proposed rule, the health department acknowledges the ban could severely impact businesses where hookah smoking is a primary attraction.

Nathan Porter, the owner of the Huka Bar, said the ban would potentially ruin his business.

"We're called the Huka Bar," Porter told Fox 13. "People come here knowing we have hookahs or they're with their friends who smoke hookah."

A public hearing was held for the hookah ban Monday afternoon in Salt Lake City.

During debates last year in Davis County, which was the first county to ban hookahs, health director Lewis Garrett said hookah smoke is still smoke that can be harmful to people.

"One of the reasons this is so prevalent, is it smells good," Garrett said. "It doesn't smell like tobacco. It smells like incense or something flavorful. And I think there's a misconception that this isn't nearly as harmful as cigarettes because it's filtered through the water and it smells nice."

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