Question: Is it safer to smoke weed through a water bong?

Answer: Safer? Well, not really. A bong is a device in which marijuana smoke is bubbled through water before inhalation. The water cools the smoke and the chamber holds a larger amount of smoke than a pipe or a cigarette.

Many people believe the extraction of harmful substances is superior with a bong than with other methods of smoking. This is either a misperception or an example of wishful thinking, because research suggests otherwise.

One study found that—compared to some other methods of smoking—the water bong tended to absorb proportionately more of the active ingredient in marijuana than the harmful tars. This finding lead researchers to predict that people may smoke more marijuana to get the desired effect and therefore be exposed to more harmful substances.

To be fair, the study also pointed out that absorption of gases by the water was not studied. Researchers say that further studies could find that water absorbs harmful substances that are in the gas phase.

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