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A warning for older bong smokers

I would have thought that bongs would be less damaging for your lungs than jays.. since at least bongs filter out a large amount of solid material which would be the cause of many lesions in lungs... any ideas? Or is this just chronic use = dodgy lungs?
 
From what I can gather. It is not the Cannabis harming your lungs.
Cannabis use has not been shown to damage lungs in any way. At least, nothing to be concerned about.

But rather, you get these pneumothorax from already having weak parts in your lungs , from cigarette smoking. And the PRESSURE from pulling a big, tight cone causes it to.... tear basically.
 
Key words being 'single decent breath'

I have gone off vaporizers and instead I vaporize hash oil in a crack pipe with a jet lighter. Total one pipe wonders!!!

I don't use weed daily now days. 8+ years was long enough for me

Weed is best in massive amounts with breaks between it's use. Habitual weed smoking is lame and stops you from getting the most out of life and yourself

mmm, i tend to agree here....

decent breath...getting used to the vap and using it correctly...tho i only used it at a friends place, never owned one.

that oil and crackpipe sounds perfect.

i must admit, that over the last 7 years i have eaten far more of my grass than smoked, or vaped.

grew out of brekky bongs, and every day pulling, and just found, that i preferred to get nice and cookie, or spacecake stoned, far less regularly, and really loved it that way.

i actually appreciate the wonderful herb that way,

when smoking cones every day just becomes passe,...dull,.. not to mention the health aspects of smoking.
after i stopped ciggies, i developed a real aversion to smoke in my lungs of any type....

the one exception being when my russian cousin dimitri comes around.
i can make an exception there..

a friend of mine got a collapsed lung in 96, in manali, smoking the cream....
the pollen,..the chariss, mmmmm, ended up in an indian hospital...
poor fucker has never been able to surf again, and it is rumoured that his once legendary` performance in the sack, has never quite recovered.

man, i hope your friend is ok,bit pattern...
and also hope you have now recovered to a suitable amount jordan.
 
ahhhh i dont like all this nasty talk, y'all getting me paranoid.

is there any way to get some diagnostics on your lungs? Getting a report card on my general lung health and what damage has been done already would be AWESOME. i've been coughing up a fair bit of black shit recently and its not very comforting.....

i tried doing this one at a doc. they basically had me blow into this fan sorta thing and then told me i was fine. anything better than that?
 
Yeh I get that black crap a lot too. Susbides about a week after smoking.

I've had childhood asthma and had numerous tests run. 6 years of smoking bongs on and off and I go to the docs to check my lungs every 6 months. Even though I'm unfit as shit my doctor says my lungs are in fine form.

That blowy thing is about the only thing GP's do to test lung capacity. I'm sure there are other tests but you'd probably have to go to a specialist.
 
My lungs are fucked because

I've had pneumonia, quinzy, severe bronchitus, asthma and tonsilitus numerous times.
But when I get them tested like you had to I blow into this thing, and it's meant to state how strong my lungs are. And I am told that they are fine, but I know that they are not because I used to be an athlete and it's just not the same.

Moral of my story, I think it's a very hard thing for doctors to compare unless it's been tracked over a longer period.

For me personally though, Swimming in the ocean is a great help, public pools seem to help, but not the way the beach water does. Something about the air down at the beach seems to really help. That thing you had to blow on my family bought one so we could try to monitor how my lungs were going.

My thing ranged from 0-850. I would averagely blow around 300-350, but If i would go to the beach and then try the next day it would be between 500-550.
I know this isn't related to pneumothorace but I still think it helps for anyone who is a smoker or just has general trouble with their lungs.

When ever I go to the beach for a swim the next few days I feel much fitter and healthier, like my body is breathing normally (the way it did before I had pneumonia and quinzy)

Try it for yourself, go to the beach, spend the day, have a few swims and see if your body feels refreshed afterwards.


As far as coughing up black crap I've seen plenty of people do it when ever they stop smoking for a few days, but as Sameria stated it normally clears up in the first week.
 
What sort of contraption did you buy for use at home?

I've got a very simple plastic device. I used this quiet a bit back when my childhood asthma was rife but the doctor told me not to put too much weight into my results, as it was not as accurate as the electronic gizmo they had at the doctors surgery.

I can also briefly remember the doctor telling me that the test they use in surgeries only tests lung capacity, and fails to take into account overall fitness. Perhaps this is why you noticed a decrease in the performance of your lungs/overall body ?
 
As far as coughing up black crap I've seen plenty of people do it when ever they stop smoking for a few days, but as Sameria stated it normally clears up in the first week.

what about if you haven't stopped smoking at all? 8o ooooo dear.....

but yea interesting what you said about the ocean.

i started running seriously when i started smoking. i always had a ciggie after runs, and have been smoking pretty heavily since.

for some reason though my lung capacity is actually HUGE. i can hold my breathe for over a minute and a half, and can rip 3 bongs in one breath (no joke.) for some reason i reckon smoking has made my lung capacity much bigger, whether in conjuction with running or not.

i reckon its just ur lungs get used to less oxygen, so they need to fill up more. compensating i guess?
 
I used to cough up that black shit too, its fucking disgusting. Seeing as how I have only been back on daily bongs for about 3 months I haven't started again yet, but I don't imagine it will take that many more months...
 
Is it possible to get minor ones that just cause discomfort and pain?


yes...most collapses that are under ~10% are not treated with a chest tube and typically can resolve themselves after a few days of rest. I think the easiest way to tell if you have a pneumothorax (other than a chest x-ray) is by leaning over like you're touching your toes and if you have one, you'll feel like air is moving around in your chest.
 
Sorry to hear about your mate bro =(



Jordan is correct but I should elaborate.
Pneumothorax is a collapsed lung, not neccesarily one caused by Smoking bongs.
It can also cause from

scuba diving, sky diving, smoking marijuana or cigarettes, high altitude hiking, and flying... So pretty much anything that puts on a strain to the lungs.

Personally I think there would be little difference of which is more likely to cause this out of Tobacco and Marijuana or Spinning. Because whilst tobacco is more likely to cause cancer, maijuana still puts a similar strain on the lungs.

Also, Tall and thin people are more likely to get a collapsed lung (rocks to be me, short and tough) =D

Lung diseases such as COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough also increase your risk for a collapsed lung.

I'm just wondering did your friend have any of these other contributing factors. But I have no doubt that the smoking definately did that extra bit.

If you have a collapsed lung, you are more likely to have another one in the future if you:


* Are tall and thin
* Continue to smoke
* Have had two collapsed lungs in the past


For this reason I encourage you to make sure your friend tries to quit smoking afterwards, what happens during the surgery is they try to fix the whole up and make it scar over, as a result the scar tissue is weaker then normal lung tissue and therefore more likely to re-open if under stress.

It may suck for him to have to go without smoking, but I guarentee you it would suck more to be doing the same surgery to the same patient who didn't follow some simple instructions.

This is a good post. I had multiple collapses on my left lung...and a chest tube did not resolve the problem, so I had the surgery described elsewhere with mechanical pleurodesis, and the blebs (blisters) cut out from my lungs.

I think the key thing that most people are missing is that you need to be predisposed to have a primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Some people have blebs that form on their lungs congenitally...like I did. You can see these blebs on a catscan (i think) of your chest. The popular belief is that the things listed in the above post, especially smoking, can be contributing factors in causing a bleb to rupture. But in the absence of this congenital defect, someone would typically need to develop some sort of underlying lung disease before having a spontaneously collapsed lung. A collapsed lung from trauma (like a stab wound), of course, is not spontaneous.

I was a heavy pot smoker (and bong smoker)...with the occasional cig for maybe five years or so...but had cut back drastically in the three years leading up to my lung collapsing. And it first occured totally randomly while in a subway. Would it never have happened if i didn't smoke? maybe not...but my doctor wouldn't go so far as saying that. Many non-smokers have blebs rupture and lungs collapse. Also, I am tall and thin (6'4" ~175lbs), and my doctors where just as quick to point this out as they where to ask about any history of smoking.

I've since tried to stick to making pot brownies, but i still have the occasional smoke or cig while i'm drunk or otherwise. If i get back into pot in the future, i'll probably look for a vape...
 
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hey.

poppin' into the down under forum to tell you how to construct a

SUPER-CHEAP, KICK-ASS FORCED-AIR VAPORISER:

use an embossing tool (available where you get supplies for scrapbooking/paper-crafting) as the heat source. they cost about [no prices- for anything] (american), "marvy" is a popular brand.

theoretically, you can use it with any pipe or bong (don't put water in the bong), but some work better than others. wide, shallow bowls work best, and you may need a top screen to keep from blowing your weed out of the bowl.

load a bowl loosely, put on top screen if neccessary, and let embossing tool heat for about 30 seconds or so. then begin to inhale as you bring the heat source close (2 or 3 mm*) to your weed. KEEP THE EMBOSSING TOOL MOVING TO AVOID IGNITING YOUR WEED.

* mine is old and beat up. if you have a brand-new one, you might want to start further away.

for such a low price, why not at least give it a try? your stash will last longer, get you higher, and your lungs will thank you. :)
 
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You can buy small butane fueled portable "heat shrink" melting devices from electronics shops. They stay around the one temp though. You can buy heat guns with adjustable temps now so that is probably your best bet for a ghetto vapouriser.

Or just spend some money and buy a digitsl Volcano and you will never look back.
 
Interesting thread here.

I am in my early 30's now, haven't smoked weed for nearly 5 years, I just recently returned from 2 months holiday in Europe, mostly in Eastern Europe, few weeks in Holland, Belgium, France and UK.

I was surprised to see my mates and new faces in Europe, they haven't really got the "bong culture" they are more of a "joint culture". Especially in Amsterdam, they see bongs more of "tourists/yank thing".

When I arrived Amsterdam, I started smoking fine primo hash again, and was surprised to discover Dutch are more social with smoking joints, while in Australia and America smoke mostly through bongs and they go into dull/coma state after few cones, just like how I went through when I was younger in my early-mid 20's before gave it up.

I was glad my dutch mates took me to "local coffeeshops" outside the city and away from tourist spots where there was bongs everywhere, while in "local coffeeshops" will not have bongs in sight unless requested.

Caught up with my mates in UK and they all smoked joints, and found bongs "too much headfuck" for them, same with Dutch and Beligans, they smoke weed more for "mellowness and social greaser" not to get utterly glued on your arse on some potent Indicas. But to relax with few drinks, play music, talk shit, few laughters.

I rarely see long term Aussie bong smokers in that social mode, usually come home from work, drink few bundy and rums, pull few cones and go to bed or watch TV/Movies like a Zombie. It's usually seen as "bogan thing" if you know what I mean, but there's weed in all levels of society.

The Europeans rather smoke more amounts in lesser amounts over time rather than Yank's and Aussie's way of get the most out of your buck in short time, like express ticket to dull type of anti-social coma.

That's what put me off weed back then, and gave up because of the bong culture.

Since I arrived Amsterdam, and discovered weed in European light, learnt a lot and made me enjoy weed in far more enjoyable state and be more socialable.

Made me wonder if it's the reason why it's harder to legalise weed in Australia because of the bong culture and the effects bongs induces on smokers/users, especially if some dickhead from government going on "weed study for legalisation or some shit" and they go on some study tour and meet bong smokers in dull state, and the sight puts off non-pot smokers and they spread more fear with their fellow non-pot smokers, hence harder to legalise weed.

While in other hand in Europe, the way they have more "relaxed" views towards cannabis due some "non-pot smokers from government" goes on "study tour" and they meet far more relaxed and socialised smokers where they can answer questions and have a mellow coffee with fools from the government unlike Aussies and Yanks in dull-coma state from bongs?

I am not saying all bong smokers are like this, just what I have witnessed and expereinced, as cannabis affects everyone differently through tolerence and surroundings.... and maybe peer pressure as well for some "groups"????

Anyhoo... I like joints now, smoke them couple times a week washed down with a nice fine Shriaz or Cab Sav Red Wines.....

that's what I call.... relaxed "time out" for me, especially on Saturday nights :)

P.S. of course there's thousands of joint smokers in Australia... just talking about the "bong culture" here. 8)
 
^ I have always been baffled how places like the UK and Amsterdam were so filled with joint smokers, much like the fascination with blunts in hip hop culture amazes me.

Personally, I am a daily bong smoker, joints will NEVER get me as high as bongs if I use 5 times the weed, they are a WASTE. I remember one time a friend and I had some nice blunt wraps and a lot of weed, thought fuck it, lets roll up a 3 gram+ fatty and smoke it to the head. I was seriously less high than 5 or 6 bongs would of got me, I am not dicksizing here but it fairly well illustrates the difference between the methods of consumption.

I think it's just plain bullshit to claim bongs are an "express ticket to dull to dull type of anti-social coma". It is pretty much the most effective way to consume cannabis, and most active compounds in cannabis possess atleast mildly sedative properties, it is pure fucking logic that ofcourse you will get more sedated quicker with bongs but that doesn't mean it is all they offer.

Say it takes you 5 or 6 cones to become a "zombie", then couldn't you easily just smoke 2 or 3 cones instead to achieve "mellowness" instead? It seems to me unless you have some issues with self control you could attain exactly the same buzz you are with joints through bongs and only using 1/10th the amount of bud.

I do know the "bong culture" you refer to but for every "zombie" I know theres atleast 1 daily bong smoker who keeps their consumption moderate to achieve a "mellowness" for most of the day, perhaps only getting properly faded just before bed to ease sleep.

I haven't ever been in stoner circles in Europe or the UK so I cannot comment how commonplace it is for them to spend evenings and nights huddled around a bong in a bungalow with a few mates plowing down cones like no tommorrow. I do admit that is fairly commonplace here, although it is certainly no more self constructive than the rite of passage of going out and getting slaughtered on alcohol.

I don't have anything against joint smokers, it is something I don't understand because as I said you can achieve that "mellowness" through a pipe or bong using a much smaller amount of bud. On the subject of things being obstacles to legalisation, do you think "joint smokers" turning on "bong culture" is really going to accomplish anything when weed smokers are a minority as it is, before you divide us further.

Also, as a daily bong smoker I find smoking a few bongs in the morning has a way of waking me up, and so long as I keep smoking cones throughout the day I probably feel slightly more energetic and motivated than on a day I wait till the night or evening to smoke. Obviously if I smoked a lot I would feel more tired but my point is that bongs at the right dose can even have a waking effect. It isn't just about ROA, it's about how much you smoke. I can tell you it costs a lot less staying "mellow" all day smoking bongs than it does smoking joints.
 
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*packs drug mentor a cone in clean glass bong, hands him the bong and lighter*

*me rolls a nice fattie*

*gurrgggleee guruurrglleee*

*puff....*inhales*....puff....*inhales*....pufffffff*

*sighs* we both had our little fix after a llloooooonnngg day!

Okie Dokie....

of course we are no different.

Sorry if I mis-interpret "bong smokers" as some kind of sterotype. Yes I admit, Drug Mentor... I had a serious issues with self control in the past.

Guess what I am trying to say is the mentally of people/users with lack of self control like myself, find bongs too easy... just chop, fill, *crack lighter* pull....gurrgllleee guurrggglleee....*sighs*...exhales....

While with joints.... I actually find enjoyable tasting all the resins, THC enriched resionous buds, taking in all slowly...things become slow as I smoke the joint slowly.....

Just like Wine Snob like myself buying a bottle of fancy Red, drinking slowly, taking in all the aroma, nose, flavours, balance, and slowly getting tipsy as the bottle of red gets empty... find the drinking red slowly enjoyable... then it's time to hit the sack.

Like smoking joints slowly..... when you're near end of the joint.... you've enjoyed it, start to wonder bedtime... or roll a other joint.....

Just like When you have finished bottle of red.... you "feel like" a "one more glass of red" especially when you have just received a dozen from your wine club.

Guy loves his single malt scotch whisky or bourbon... drinks them on rocks or shot glasses, has a few.... tries to figure out..."one more" or "what?....

Suddenly gets drunk... or on the borderline.... that's he's able to function as normal.

Guy loves his weed and smokes in bongs......packs cones.... has a few.

Guy just grabbed this new strain of weed, different taste, high, stone, and strength..... thinks "ooooh it's nice here! one more or what?"

Guess what I am trying to say.... I look at weed like top notch wines to enjoy.

You look at weed like it's bourbon/whisky that you like the strength.

Nothing wrong with that for either of us!

*packs Drug Mentor a other cone and passes to him....*

*me rolls a other joint.....*
 
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