Jewels, here is a fact sheet from the CDC with more information about the health effects of using a hookah to smoke:
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_stat...ts/hookahs.htm
It isn't harmless; that said, an adult should be able to ascertain for themselves whether or not it is an acceptable risk. It is a social thing, like passing the bong/pipe around. I personally don't smoke hookah, but I've known people who did--it's become pretty ubiquitous among college-age people. We're more the pass-the-bong-around kind of people
