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How bad is it to smoke out of a plastic bong/rubber hose?

the_ketaman

the_ketaman

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Oct 18, 2005
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Im just wondering how bad it is to smoke out of a homemade plastic bong with a garden hose? Ive been doing it for years on and off and though it is smoother through a glassie I have never tasted rubber or anything through a homemade bong, I am still concerned though. Would it? Could it be quite a bit worse for you? I wonder whether even though the flame is not touching the rubber that it still may get hot enough to give off toxic fumes.

Am I paranoid? It sounds silly but at the moment I really dont have the money for a glass bong and I dont plan on smoking forever. Any opinions or replies are welcome.
 
The biggest source of toxins I'd imagine would be where the cone piece heats up and melts the rubber hose. It would be small (ie. not enough to see the fumes ) but significant enought to be a factor. Having said that it would surely pale into comparison compared to the smoke particles you are inhaling anyway.

I guess if you buy into the whole "plastic is evil" argument then there is also the risk of chemicals leeching into your bong water, but I have only met a few people who have ever drunk that.

If you are that worried, a vap is always going to be better for your lungs than a bong.
 
Years ago when I used to smoke daily with friends after a session the hose would be visably melted and deformed. This would have to be from the cone piece heated up and the heat transferring to the hose which in turn melted. One can only assume that by melting the hose toxic fumes would have been created which would travel into our lungs.

If you are smoking through a plastic bottle and hose infrequently you are probably ok if the hose doesn't look melted. That said if I still smoked i would invest in a glassy or at least a metal stem.
 
Plastic seems to degrade just from the water alone. I've also been using the old Gatorade bottle for quite some time, also find that glassies seem to be moreso harsh on the lungs, perhaps it's what you are used to though.
I think as long as your cleaning it and replacing the stem every so often it shouldn't be too bad.

In saying that; if you can afford a stick you can afford a glass bong - I recently picked one up for the same price as a stick from the local tobacconist, its efficient and works fine.

Since smoking out of it I've noticed I don't have to smoke as much compared to the plastic one, wahh is definitely good in some aspects. Something to think about anyway.
 
If you don't have a proper cone and end up using foil as a replacement, that can have more negative consequences when you heat it and inhale its fumes than the plastic bottle/garden hose combo. Our resident Dr. may be able to add the specific dangers of this. I don't smoke bongs so I'm not familiar personally.
 
the toxins from tobacco (if u mix) are probably on par with melted plastic anyway. Im in the same boat. I used to use orchies and gatorade bottles when i was younger, now i stick to double chamber glassy, but i also have a vap, but never got into it much as i could hardly notice anything from it (missed the bong hit i guess). I aim to fuck the bong off and use it one day, but who knows.
 
i haven't used a plastic bottle bong since high school, and the health risks (real or imagined) are my biggest issue with the widespread banning of bongs in lots of australian states.
if you smoke every day, the risk of inhaling plastic fumes is probably greater than if you smoke the occasional billy - but to my way of thinking (not backed up by any scientific evidence) it seems to unnecessarily increase the risk of what is otherwise pretty harmless.
 
As far as the alfoil claim, a lighter doesn't head it up enough to do anything.
As far as glass being harsh, I have to disagree. I find glass pipes to be smoother than the steel/brass/bamboo/non-glass pipes, as well as glass bongs being smoother than the acrylic bongs you can buy as well as the gatorade/plastic bottle.
I've seen people use PCV and plastic bottles with a glass downstem, claiming the heat isn't hot enough to melt any of the PVC/Plastic by the time it reaches it so nothing is inhaled, but again, this is just hearsay.

Does anyone else have to put up with comments about "inhaling water" and "having water stuck in your lungs"? :|
 
^ yes! I stopped smoking bongs 5+ years ago because smokimf through water led me to develop a really nasty cough. Ive smoked very heavily at times since then and never had the same issue.
Ive known other people to smoke through water pipes for years without issue - maybe i didnt clean my bong enough, but for me at least water filtration causes respiratory problems that other methods (pipe, joint, even bucket bong) dont cause.
 
is there water filtration in a bucket bong?
ice cubes in the bong water gives you pneumonia? i don't believe it but you hear it all the time. cooler water is definitely smoother imo. stupid being concerned about inhaling h20 considering the tar & blah blah blah
keep the orchy tradition but invest in a cone & stem then you don't got to worry about the hose melting. when the bottle has seen better days just extract stem & cone and insert into new orchy/gatorade/masterfoods sauce bottle.
i do find that glass bongs are a lot smoother than plastic and double chambers are way smoother again
bamboo for the win though
 
Smoke isn't drawn though the water in a bucket bong, it is just a two fisted pressure push into the lungs. At a stretch you might get some cooling having the smoke sit next to a larger body of water but from experience I can say that buckets are the most destructive method when it comes to your lungs.

Their only HR value would be the fact you need to smoke less to get the same high.
 
yeh you are right my bad!!! the smoke sits on top of the water in the bucket...what a dick!
 
It is possible though. We used a really long down pipe from the cone piece into the bucket of water and as you raised it the smoke filtered through the water. Still punches the smoke into the deepest recesses of your lungs so sort of negates any health benefits.
 
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