Washington: Though there may be a decline in cigarette smoking, a new study had claimed that now hookah has become a popular trend amongst high school seniors. The study by University of Waterloo found that almost one in four high school seniors try smoking hookah, and as per the estimates, over 78,200 youth are current water pipe users.

Leia Minaker, who conducted the study, said that while we can celebrate a continued slow decline in cigarette use across the country, water pipes are bucking the trend. Water pipes work by bubbling tobacco smoke through water, leading many users to believe that they carry less risk than cigarettes. The study, which analyzed data from the national 2012-2013 Youth Smoking Survey, found that over a third of youth believe it is less harmful to smoke tobacco in a water pipe than smoking a cigarette.

Minaker warned that it was a dangerous misconception that water pipes were somehow less harmful than cigarettes, and since most water pipe smoking sessions last much longer than a cigarette, water pipe smokers may absorb higher concentrations of the same toxins as in cigarette smoke. Water pipes join a growing number of products marketed to youth using flavoured tobacco. The survey found that among students who reported using water pipes, about half used flavoured products.

Several countries have banned indoor water pipe smoking, including Lebanon, Turkey, and parts of Saudi Arabia and India, where water pipe smoking is a cultural activity. In Canada, Nova Scotia, Alberta and at least 12 municipalities have adopted legislation to prohibit any water pipe smoking in public places where smoking is banned. The Canadian Cancer Society reports lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in Canada. It is estimated that 85 per cent of lung cancer cases are related to using tobacco products.

The study is published in the Cancer Causes and Control.