Since governments are banning the use of e-cigarettes I was wondering is it illegal to smoke a bong with tobacco in a public place?

Arguably, it's just a "water pipe", for tobacco.

On the other hand, the arresting officer will claim it is "paraphernalia", and that used to be an issue....

Rusty

Depends whether an illegal substance had been used in the utensil previously, but the cops aren't going to know that so even though you might be claiming only to smoke tobacco they might just charge you anyway.
If tests prove there was no residue from illegal substances in the utensil, the charges would likely be dropped.
If you had previous warrants or bail conditions and they imprison you, you might have an argument for unlawful imprisonment, but I'm not sure.
But making them look foolish might anger them and they might a point of coming and picking on you, to stir you up till you do something stupid they can arrest you for.

I'm not sure what you would be trying to prove by doing this, but people will complain if they see you doing it and the police would be required to act on it.
And whether you are in the right or not you are most certainly going to invite police to take a look at you, and they might find other things to charge you for.

My advice: Doing this is childish and truly not in your own interests, but you go ahead and find out for yourself, if you must.
What do you expect to gain from it?

The average intelligence and relevance of the posts in this section are well below zero lately.

Why shouldn't a member of the public us a 'bong' in order to partake in a legal product, a product the government derives a considerable amount of taxation! Sure it would've been a legitimate pinch to lock up some poor sap for using and having in his possession an article used for the induction of a prohibited substance. However considering how pathetically weak our judiciary are these days you'd probably be awarded the Noble Prize for innovation?

More of those nice sniffer dogs are needed,

#moredrugdogsnow