water-pipe smoking

Although more scientific research is necessary, the World Health Organization said Tuesday in Geneva that water-pipe smoking may pose the same health risks as cigarettes.

"Using a water pipe to smoke tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking," the U.N. health agency said in a seven-page document on the practice. "Contrary to ancient lore and popular belief, the smoke that emerges from a water pipe contains numerous toxicants known to cause lung cancer, heart disease and other diseases."

The WHO "advisory note" warned using water pipes to consume the tobacco usually exposes a person to more smoke over a longer period of time than do cigarettes. Preliminary research suggests hookah smoking poses many of the same dangers as cigarettes and may involve "some unique health risks," the agency said.