Trendy water pipes -- like smokeless tobacco, sometimes considered a safer alternative to smoking -- are still dangerous, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned as the agency marked World No Tobacco Day.

Reuters reported May 30 that WHO officials noted that water pipes, or hookahs, have grown in popularity in Europe and the U.S., especially among youth. In regions where cigarette smoking among women is discouraged, females sometimes take up alternative ways to consume tobacco.

WHO tobacco prevention official Douglas Bettcher warned that hookah smokers still inhale carbon monoxide, nicotine, and tar. "The idea that bubbling smoke through water is going to somehow reduce the toxins is completely false," he said.

WHO noted that water pipes lack the safety warnings of cigarette packs but still cause cancer and heart disease.

Chewing tobacco, snuff and other smokeless tobacco products are no safer than smoking, Bettcher added. All are highly addictive and can cause a range of cancers and dental problems.

The WHO's theme for World No Tobacco Day 2006 is "Tobacco: Deadly in Any Form or Disguise."