What are the health risks of hookah

I have heard that hookah has few heatl risks and its no where near as bad as actually smoking cigarettes. I smoke hookah and enjoy it and just want to know if there are any serious health risks. Please do not answer with any smart *** comment about it being smoke so it has to be bad. thanks

permasmile

The Journal of Periodontology has published a study on the effects of hookah smoking, and its findings suggest that hookah is more detrimental to dental health than cigarette smoking.

Original source:

http://www.nbc30.com/health/5277456/deta...

Summary:

Hookah smoking has been picking up steam in some cities, and some people think that the practice isn't as damaging to people's health as cigarette smoking.

But a new study in the November issue of the Journal of Periodontology says hookah smoking is just as bad -- or even worse -- than cigarette smoking for users' teeth.

A hookah is a water pipe filled with a fusion of tobacco, fruit and molasses fired by charcoal.

Hookah smoking is a social custom in India, Asia and the Middle East, but hookah lounges are now springing up in U.S. cities.

In the latest study, researchers found that the impact of water-pipe smoking is about the same magnitude as that of cigarette smoking.

The prevalence of tooth-related diseases was 30 percent for water-pipe smokers, 24 percent for cigarette smokers and 8 percent for nonsmokers.