Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University found that 43 percent of 744 college students surveyed said they had smoked tobacco from a hookah, or water pipe, during the past year, and 20 percent reported using a water pipe in the past month, HealthDay News reported May 14.

Hookah users also were more likely than nonusers to believe (wrongly) that using water pipes is less dangerous than smoking cigarettes, according to the online survey conducted by researcher Thomas Eissenberg and colleagues.

"The data we report, along with data from other schools, show that water pipe tobacco smoking is common on college campuses across the country," said Eissenberg. "Thus, prevention messages, especially those that communicate the potential risks of waterpipe tobacco smoking, should focus on college campuses."

The study was published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.