Smoking a hookah as harmful as a cigarette

If you think smoking is dangerous, you're right. Are there safe alternatives? I know a score of folks who have shifted to smokeless tobacco (not the best alternative) and just plain chewing gum. What about some kind of smoking tobacco alternative?

Like...a hookah? This device, which looks like some kid of medieval bong of sorts, is used with flavored tobacco and water as the "in" thing among some college students. However, a downside: a new report claims that just an hour of leisure hookah smoke exposure packs as much carbon monoxide as a pack-a-day cigarette habit. Yikes.

Although the report only looked at carbon monoxide exposure, that fact alone is a reason to steer clear of hookahs if you indeed use them. Carbon monoxide is an item you really, really don't want to voluntarily expose yourself to in any form.