Many in college experiment with hookah

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PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Many U.S. freshman women experiment with the hookah -- the water pipe that cools tobacco smoke, a researcher says.

Robyn Fielder of the Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, said the first year of college is all about trying new things, but some of them are not good and the hookah has become popular with some people on campus.

Fielder analyzed survey data on 343 freshmen women, who were tracked for a year and had not used a hookah before the study began.

"Twenty-three percent of the women with no previous hookah experience ended up trying hookah for the first time during their first year of college," Fielder said in a statement.

However, tobacco in a water pipe is still tobacco, and it can still sicken and kill, Fielder warned.