Smoking hookah may appear to be the safer option when compared to cigarettes, but a new study by the University of Pittsburgh may suggest otherwise.

The university discovered that hookah exposes smokers to two and a half times the nicotine, 25 times the tar, 10 times the carbon monoxide and 125 times the smoke compared to a cigarette.

 However, hookah smokers may only smoke a few times a day, whereas cigarettes are smoked multiple times throughout the day.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention say that hookah smoking is more popular amongst high school students.