Bong

Last updated October 25, 2024

A bong (also known as a water pipe) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances.^[1] In the bong shown in the photo, the smoke flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

In construction and function, a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide)^[2] which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong in Laos and Thailand, as well all over Africa, for centuries.^[3] One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant". A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

Etymology

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai : บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ] ), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

History

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold vessels 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.^[4]

During the reign of Emperor Akbar, physician Hakim Abul Fath invented the waterpipe in India, and discovered tobacco. Abul suggested that tobacco "smoke should be first passed through a small receptacle of water so that it would be rendered harmless".^[5] Other sources also show evidence of the invention of the waterpipe in China during the late Ming dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road.^{[ citation needed ]} By the Qing dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.
The tobacco container with a lid.
A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.^{[ citation needed ]}

Use

Sound of a bong in operation

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The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways.^[6] The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do.^[7] To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect".^[8] In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

MAPS^[9] also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area.^[9] These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

Adverse health effects

Bongs that are cleaned regularly eliminates yeast, fungi, bacteria and pathogens that can cause several symptoms that vary from allergy to lung infection.^[10]

Plastic bongs

It has been reported that it is possible to taste the chemicals in the water from a plastic water bottle left sitting in a hot car because "...chemicals have leached into the contents of the bottle."^[11] It was also reported that it is possible to imagine that this process of chemicals leaching into water occurring with "...a homemade water bottle bong where the bottle is routinely heated up."^[11]

It was also reported that "According to Cancer Research UK, plastic bottles heated up to 60°C contain unhealthy levels of toxic chemicals."^[11]

Legal issues

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.^[12]

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically "bong" does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.^[13]

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.^[14]

Related Research Articles

Hashish, usually abbreviated as hash, is a compressed form of powdered marijuana. As a psychoactive substance, it is consumed plain or mixed with tobacco. It has a long history of use in countries such as Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco and Egypt.

A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range from very simple machine-made briar models to highly prized hand-made artisanal implements made by renowned pipemakers, which are often very expensive collector's items.

A hookah, shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco, or sometimes cannabis, hashish and opium. The smoke is passed through a water basin—often glass-based—before inhalation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of cannabis</span>

The short-termeffects of cannabis are caused by many chemical compounds in the cannabis plant, including 113 different cannabinoids, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and 120 terpenes, which allow its drug to have various psychological and physiological effects on the human body. Different plants of the genus Cannabis contain different and often unpredictable concentrations of THC and other cannabinoids and hundreds of other molecules that have a pharmacological effect, so the final net effect cannot reliably be foreseen. Acute effects while under the influence can sometimes include euphoria or anxiety. Although some assert that cannabidiol (CBD), another cannabinoid found in cannabis in varying amounts, may alleviate the adverse effects of THC that some users experience, little is known about CBD's effects on humans. Cannabinoid receptor antagonists have previously been tested as antidotes for cannabis intoxication with success, reducing or eliminating the physiological and psychological effects of intoxication. Some of these products are currently in development as cannabis antidotes.

"Drug paraphernalia" is a term to denote any equipment, product or accessory that is intended or modified for making, using or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes. Drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine are related to a wide range of paraphernalia.

A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures. They emerged from the hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, and at that time, many of them had close ties to the anti-Vietnam War movement as well as groups in the marijuana legalization movement like LeMar, Amorphia, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaporizer (inhalation device)</span> Device to vaporize substances for inhalation

A vaporizer or vaporiser, colloquially known as a vape, is a device used to vaporize substances for inhalation. Plant substances can be used, commonly cannabis, tobacco, or other herbs or blends of essential oil. However, they are most commonly filled with a combination propylene glycol, glycerin, and drugs such as nicotine or tetrahydrocannabinol as a liquid solution.

Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, weed, and pot, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.

A chillum, or chilam, is a straight conical smoking pipe traditionally made of either clay or a soft stone. It was used popularly in India in the eighteenth century and still often used to smoke marijuana. A small stone is often used as a stopper in the stem. The style of pipe spread to Africa, and has been known in the Americas since the 1960s. A chillum pipe is used in Rastafari rituals.

Pipe smoking is the practice of tasting the smoke produced by burning a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, in a pipe. It is the oldest traditional form of smoking.

A gravity bong, also known as a GB, bucket bong, grav, geeb, gibby, yoin, or ghetto bong, is a method of consuming smokable substances such as cannabis. The term describes both a bucket bong and a waterfall bong, since both use air pressure and water to draw smoke. A lung uses similar equipment but instead of water draws the smoke by removing a compacted plastic bag or similar from the chamber.

Cannabis smoking is the inhalation of smoke or vapor released by heating the flowers, leaves, or extracts of cannabis and releasing the main psychoactive chemical, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs. Archaeological evidence indicates cannabis with high levels of THC was being smoked at least 2,500 years ago. As of 2021, cannabis is the most commonly consumed federally illegal drug in the United States, with 36.4 million people consuming it monthly.

A roach is the remains of a joint or blunt after most of it has been smoked. Most roaches are disposed of immediately after smoking a joint; however, some users will retain the roach for use at a later date. Some users maintain that smoking the roach again has a more intense high due to a high concentration of resin that gathers at the tip of the filter.

A smoking pipe is used to taste the smoke of a burning substance; most common is a tobacco pipe. Pipes are commonly made from briar, heather, corncob, meerschaum, clay, cherry, glass, porcelain, ebonite and acrylic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One-hitter (smoking)</span> Type of smoking pipe

A one-hitter is typically a slender pipe with a screened narrow bowl designed for a single inhalation, or "hit", of smoke or vapor from a small serving of heated cannabis flower, tobacco leaf or other dry, sifted herbal preparation. It is distinguished from western-style large-bowl pipes designed for strong tobaccos that are burned hot and tasted but not inhaled. Instead, by properly distancing a lighter flame below the opening, inhalant users operate at vaporization temperatures, minimizing combustion waste and toxicity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spots (cannabis)</span> Method of smoking marijuana

Spots refers to a method of smoking cannabis. Small pieces of cannabis are rolled to form the spot.

Cannabis consumption refers to the variety of ways cannabis is consumed, among which inhalation and ingestion are most common. All consumption methods involve heating the plant's THCA to decarboxylate it into THC, either at the time of consumption or during preparation. Salves and absorption through the skin (transdermal) are increasingly common in medical uses, both of CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids. Each method leads to subtly different psychoactive effects due to the THC and other chemicals being activated, and then consumed through different administration routes. It is generally considered that smoking, which includes combustion toxins, comes on quickly but lasts for a short period of time, while eating delays the onset of effect but the duration of effect is typically longer. In a 2007 ScienceDaily report of research conducted at the University of California–San Francisco, researchers reported that vaporizer users experience the same biological effect, but without the toxins associated with smoking. Δ9-THC is the primary component when inhaled, but when eaten the liver converts this to the more psychoactive 11-hydroxy-THC form.

A joint is a rolled cannabis cigarette. Unlike commercial tobacco cigarettes, the user ordinarily hand-rolls joints with rolling papers, though in some cases they are machine-rolled. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium in industrialized countries; however, brown paper, cigarettes or beedies with the tobacco removed, receipts and paper napkin can also be used, particularly in developing countries. Modern papers are manufactured in a range of sizes from a wide variety of materials including rice, hemp, and flax, and are also available in liquorice and other flavoured varieties.

Hash oil or cannabis oil is an oleoresin obtained by the extraction of cannabis or hashish. It is a cannabis concentrate containing many of its resins and terpenes – in particular, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and other cannabinoids. Hash oil is usually consumed by smoking, vaporizing or eating. Preparations of hash oil may be solid or semi-liquid colloids depending on both production method and temperature and are usually identified by their appearance or characteristics. Color most commonly ranges from transparent golden or light brown, to tan or black. There are various extraction methods, most involving a solvent, such as butane or ethanol.

Terms related to cannabis include:

References

↑ "Contraband: The Sale of Regulated Goods on the Internet". Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
↑ Delaney, Arthur (2008-05-09). "How To Make a Skull Bong". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on 2023-02-14. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
↑ "The real history of the bong". 420 Magazine. 5 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
↑ National Geographic (22 May 2015). "Gold Artifacts Tell Tale of Drug-Fueled Rituals and "Bastard Wars"". National Geographic Society . Archived from the original on 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
↑ "Waterpipe Overview – WHO FCTC Secretariat's Knowledge Hub on waterpipes". Archived from the original on 2022-01-15. Retrieved 2022-01-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
↑ "Marijuana Consumption: Smoking, Eating, And Drinking Marijuana". Archived from the original on March 23, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
↑ Keliher, Evan (2003). Grandpa's Marijuana Handbook (2nd ed.). Chula Vista, California: Aventine Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-59330-135-4.
↑ "MAPS - Volume 6 Number 3 Summer 1996 -". maps.org. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
1 2 Cozzi, Nicholas V. "Effects of water filtration on marijuana smoke: a literature review". UKCIA. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
↑ "The Dangers of a Dirty Bong", leafscience.com, 16 July 2018, archived from the original on 21 May 2022, retrieved 21 December 2022
1 2 3 Powell, Burgess (2014). "The Dangers of Smoking Out of Plastic". High Times. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
↑ "DEA Definition of Paraphernalia - gas mask bong, Squeeze bottle filled with GHB..." headshops.us. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
↑ "Phoenix New Times: Head Games". Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
↑ Spencer, Terry (23 January 2017). "Pipe maker sues: Fake bongs hit world of high-end glass pipes". Thecannabist.co. Archived from the original on 2017-01-28. Retrieved 2017-01-28.

External links

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[1] "Contraband: The Sale of Regulated Goods on the Internet". Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2010-03-24.

[2] Delaney, Arthur (2008-05-09). "How To Make a Skull Bong". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on 2023-02-14. Retrieved 2023-02-14.

[3] "The real history of the bong". 420 Magazine. 5 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16.

[4] National Geographic (22 May 2015). "Gold Artifacts Tell Tale of Drug-Fueled Rituals and "Bastard Wars"". National Geographic Society . Archived from the original on 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2022-05-10.

[5] "Waterpipe Overview – WHO FCTC Secretariat's Knowledge Hub on waterpipes". Archived from the original on 2022-01-15. Retrieved 2022-01-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[6] "Marijuana Consumption: Smoking, Eating, And Drinking Marijuana". Archived from the original on March 23, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.

[7] Keliher, Evan (2003). Grandpa's Marijuana Handbook (2nd ed.). Chula Vista, California: Aventine Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-59330-135-4.

[8] "MAPS - Volume 6 Number 3 Summer 1996 -". maps.org. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.

[ukcia.org-9] 1 2 Cozzi, Nicholas V. "Effects of water filtration on marijuana smoke: a literature review". UKCIA. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2020-08-16.

[10] "The Dangers of a Dirty Bong", leafscience.com, 16 July 2018, archived from the original on 21 May 2022, retrieved 21 December 2022

[plastic_April_2022_High_Times-11] 1 2 3 Powell, Burgess (2014). "The Dangers of Smoking Out of Plastic". High Times. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.

[12] "DEA Definition of Paraphernalia - gas mask bong, Squeeze bottle filled with GHB..." headshops.us. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-30.

[13] "Phoenix New Times: Head Games". Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2010-12-09.

[14] Spencer, Terry (23 January 2017). "Pipe maker sues: Fake bongs hit world of high-end glass pipes". Thecannabist.co. Archived from the original on 2017-01-28. Retrieved 2017-01-28.

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