Bongs filter and cool smoke before it enters the lungs. This can help reduce the harmful chemicals that damage lung tissue and cause coughing.
Bongs have a mouthpiece, carb hole, and a central chamber for water filtration. They also have a downstem, a long glass tube that attaches to the bowl.
Water Filtration
When smoke passes through water, ash and tar bind to the molecules in the liquid, which traps them and only allows small amounts of smoking byproducts to reach your lungs, this makes it significantly easier on your lungs and more enjoyable to smoke.
If you have a bong with extra filtration features like percolators, tar, and other impurities are filtered out even more. Small, disc-shaped additions in your bong’s neck and chamber further defuse the smoke while cooling it even more. These can be branched like trees, notched tubes, rounded domes, or a whole host of other designs created by glassblowers. You can choose between a double or triple percolator as well.
Add water to the chamber to use a bong with a percolator until any air holes are covered. Then, place your bowl in the bong and fill it up with weed. Be sure to replace the bong water frequently, which helps keep it clean and fresh and reduces resin build-up. This will also make the bong more enjoyable to smoke.
Cooling
When you smoke a bong, a large portion of the organic material in your cannabis is water vapor. This vapor cools and filters out heavier elements in your hit, like tars, fine unburnt organic matter, and other chemicals. The result is a more smooth and potent hit for your lungs. This is what separates bongs from regular pipes.
Some people add ice to their bong for smoking for extra cooling and filtering benefits. Ice works excellently, but be careful with how much ice you use since it will affect how well your bong functions. For best results, exposing only a small amount of ice to the smoke is suggested since most of it will not be filtered through the water.
Many bongs use scientific glassblowing techniques to feature nifty features like chambers, percolators, and constrictions. These things are designed to help further cool and filter your hit before it reaches your lungs. These innovations are a testament to the technical knowledge of scientific glassblowers.
Safety
It’s important to note that using a bong can potentially lead to lung infections. However, this outcome can be influenced by a few factors, such as smoking intensity and duration. Bongs that aren’t cleaned properly can also spread germs among smokers. Inhaling secondhand smoke can lead to respiratory disorders and even death, regardless of whether the user is smoking cannabis or tobacco.
A person smoking a bong should use ice water to cool the smoke and make it less harsh on their lungs. Adding lemon peels or other spices can add to the flavor of the smoke.
A bong can be made of glass, acrylic, or ceramic. It’s important to avoid using plastic bongs, as they can release harmful chemicals when heated and can be prone to warping or melting. It’s also essential to clean a bong frequently and not use cleaning products that are too strong, like isopropyl alcohol. If the bong is not cleaned correctly, it can contain bacterial and mold growth, which can be unhealthy for smokers.
Convenience
Many smokers swear by bongs because they produce bigger, smoother hits than blunts or pipes. They’re also easier on the lungs because they filter out tars and other carcinogens. They’re also easy to maintain if you follow a few best practices.
A bong consists of a base, stem, and chamber. The base holds the bowl that is packed with ground cannabis. The stem (the downstem) extends into the base and the chamber. The downstem can be made from various materials, including glass, copper, or steel.
The smoke passes through the water filter in the chamber, which cools and filters it. Then, it goes up through the mouthpiece to the user’s lungs for consumption. The mouthpiece is typically made from a flexible material such as silicon, which reduces the risk of burning the lips during use. The user inhales the smoke, which carries THC to the lungs and brain for a potent high. Bongs also allow users to control their dose because they can stop smoking anytime.
Style
The word “bong” is a shorthand way to refer to any water pipe. It’s a term that was created to satisfy federal regulations before cannabis became legal, and it doesn’t set off illicit drug alarm bells as easily as pipes or joints.
Bongs come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The downstem accepts a bowl piece on one end and is submerged in water on the other, filtering the smoke through cool water before it travels up to the user’s mouth. Many bongs also have ice catcher features, usually three indentations, called ice pinches, midway up the tube to hold ice and further reduce the temperature of the smoke.
