American college girls turning to hookahs

One out of four college girls in the US are hooked on to the hookah during early years, and many of them mistakenly believe that it is safer than cigarettes, a new study has found.

One out of four college girls in the US are hooked on to the hookah during early years, and many of them mistakenly believe that it is safer than cigarettes, a new study has found.

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Researchers from the Miriam Hospital’s Centre for Behavioural and Preventive Medicine found the more alcohol girls consumed, the more likely they were to try the hookah, which originated from India and Persia.

Women who used marijuana engaged in hookah smoking more frequently than their peers, according to the journal of Psychology of Addictive Behaviours. The phenomenon was mostly prevalent among the first year college students.

Many of them also mistakenly believe that hookah is safer than cigarettes, even though its use has been linked to many of the same diseases caused by cigarette smoking, including lung cancer, respiratory illness and periodontal disease.

Hookah smoking is a social activity during which users smoke tobacco filtered through a water pipe.