Is Smoking Weed Safe through a Bong?

Cannabis is most commonly consumed through smoking, although vaping and dabbing are also common ways of consuming cannabis.

Common ways to smoke cannabis include rolled joints, bongs, and pipes.

Bongs are especially popular due to their feature of cooling and filtering smoke via water.

They are easy to share and are perceived as safer or healthier than joints and hand pipes.

Is smoking weed safe through a bong? Does Bong Water Filter Out all the toxins from the smoke? If it doesn’t, why does the bong water get so dirty?

In this article, We will answer all these questions and introduce some other popular cannabis consuming methods to help you choose the healithiest one.

What is a Bong? and How Does it Work?

A ‘bong’, also known as a water pipe, is a smoking device, generally used to smoke cannabis, tobacco, as well as a range of other substances.

There are 4 main types of bong materials; glass, acrylic, silicone, and ceramic. Plus, Bongs come in multiple shapes and sizes.

For instance, Percolator bongs, also known as perc bongs, feature various types of percolators designed to diffuse smoke for a smoother hit.

To use a bong, the base of the pipe is usually filled with water. The cannabis flower is packed into a ‘bowl’ on the side of the bong and then light it.

When you hit a bong, smoke travels down the downstem and is filtered and cooled down through water before traveling up the bong's neck to the mouthpiece.

Is Smoking Weed Safe through a Bong?

The smoke produced by burning cannabis contains many of the same harmful toxins and carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, which are detrimental to your throat, respiratory system, lungs, and health.

Including the hot smoke, Carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hundreds of carcinogenic compounds generally referred to as tar, and fine particulate matter, like ash.

Using bong with Water filtration should be used as a means to improve the quality of your smoking experience, and it is very effective at this.

Primarily, by passing through cool water, the temperature of the smoke is lowered significantly. Therefore, it is less aggressive to inhale.

Along with cooling, each inhalation, the water inside the bong filters out the larger particles and ash that would otherwise end up in your mouth, such as when smoking a joint or pipe.

There’s also a certain amount of tar that is filtered out of each hit as well, which is why bong water eventually turns a sickly brown after numerous uses.

However, The water in the device doesn’t remove all of the tar and other dangerous chemical substances like Carbon monoxide and fine particles (the PM2.5), which are not water soluble.

These remaining dangerous toxins and carcinogens can still go into the lungs, causing pulmonary and cardiovascular harm.

Smoking is a dangerous route of administration. No matter what the substance is, Marijuana, tobacco or other dry herbs, there are a range of potential negative consequences if you choose to smoke it.

The main reason that many believe the bong to be a ‘safer’ way of smoking cannabis is due to the water removes the most tar and other carcinogenic material from the smoke, thus reducing some of the risks associated with smoking.

But do not fool yourself into thinking you’re avoiding the bad side effects of smoke inhalation. If you’re concerned about the effects of smoke, find another safer method of ingestion like vaping or eating!

Smoking marijuana clearly damages the human lung, and regular use leads to chronic bronchitis and can cause an immune-compromised person to be more susceptible to lung infections.

Additionally, We don't recommend using any bongs or smoking apparatuses made from plastic, rubber, or aluminum as they can create bad or harmful fumes when heated.

For example, Heating plastic can result in the release BPA, phthalates, and other potentially dangerous components. The process of heating soda cans to smoke cannabis may result in increased inhalation of aluminum, possibly increasing the risk of leukoencephalopathy in people.

What kind of bong is safe or best suited for smoking weed?

The best or healthiest type of bong for smoking cannabis would be a glass bong. It don't contain any harmful chemicals like BPA or phthalates.

Unlike metal or Silicone bong, Glass bong provides a clean and pure taste with no interference from the material itself.

Finally, glass bongs are typically more visually appealing and customizable with intricate designs.

Are there healthy alternatives to smoking cannabis?

Fortunately, certain techniques might be marginally less damaging than others.

Let’s explore how these various methods stack up, as well as some alternatives that don’t involve smoke.

1. Vaping

If inhaling smoke is a concern, we recommend a dry herb vaporizer or oil vape.

A dry herb vaporizer is a device used to extract the effective ingredients in cannabis flower.

Vaporization is a superb way to deliver the therapeutic components of marijuana without the toxic byproducts of combustion, like tars, hydrocarbons, benzene, carbon monoxide or other toxic pryolytic gases.

Plus, since no combustion occurs, neither smoke nor the taste of smoke is present. Respiratory risks associated with smoked marijuana are eliminated.

You can also use another common type of vape pen to heat concentrated cannabis oil to a high temperature in order to convert it to vapor that can be inhaled.

Vaporizers allow you to control the temperature to ensure you go as low as needed to provide the smoothest and most pleasant vapor experience.

2. Dabbing

Dabbing is a method of consuming marijuana (cannabis) in a solid concentrated form.

Referred to as “dabs,” these marijuana concentrates usually look like dark brown or yellow-colored wax and can feel very sticky and gummy.

This includes several grades and consistencies, such as badder, budder, sugar wax, crumble, shatter, live resin, and many more.

It's popular for both recreational and medicinal consumers due to the lack of combustion needed to inhale it, along with its bioavailability and richness in terpenes.

The popular dabbing devices include glass dab rig, e-rig, nectar collector, and dab pen.

3. Edibles

Unlike smoking and vaping, ingesting cannabis won’t harm your lung health.

The downside for some is that edibles take about an hour longer to kick in because they need to pass your digestive system before getting into your bloodstream. The upside is that the effects also hang around longer.

You also have an endless variety to choose from, with everything from gummies to baked goods to cannabutter.

4. Sublingual Tinctures

Tinctures are essentially cannabis extracts dissolved in alcohol, packaged in bottles with droppers for easy dosage.

While they can be added to beverages, a quicker way to experience their effects is by placing a few drops under your tongue, where they are absorbed through the mucus membranes in your mouth.

This method results in a quicker onset of effects compared to edibles.

5. Topicals

Cannabis topicals are for people looking for the therapeutic benefits of cannabis without the cerebral effects.

Creams, balms, and patches can be applied to the skin to relieve inflammation and pain.

Conclusion

A bong can give you a cleaner and smoother hit that feels less harsh than what you get from a rolled joint or pipe, but it’s not completely protecting you from the health risks of smoking.

No one else can decide for you if you’ll like smoking from a bong. You’ll just have to light one up and try it out.

Make sure to keep your bong clean and change the water frequently. Using dirty bong water gives the smoke an unpleasant flavor and odor. Also, it doesn't filter as well as clean water. 

In addition, As cannabis becomes more popular, so do products that allow you to indulge without the smoke.

Some safer alternatives to smoking, depending on your wants and needs, are vaping (canabis flower or oil), dabbing (solid wax), edibles, sublingual tinctures, and topicals.

This is a personal decision you and your doctor will need to make. We hope our article can help you.