How to smoke from a Bong?
By Vu Pham on Apr 18, 2022
1. Fill the bong with water
Fill up the bong so the water comes no more than 1 inch above the tip of the downstem (the long tube of glass that sticks into the bong). Any more water than that and you could get splashed while you’re smoking.
2. Grind up your cannabis
Use your fingers, a pair of scissors, or a grinder. Make sure it’s ground up finely. Break off a couple of larger pieces, about 0.5 cm (0.2 inches) long and wide, to pack at the bottom of the bong bowl
3. Pack the cannabis in the bong bowl
Take the large pieces of cannabis you set aside and pack them in the bowl first; these pieces will prevent the finely ground cannabis from getting sucked through the bowl as you’re smoking. Then, pinch some of the ground cannabis between your fingers and drop it into the bowl.
4. Hold the bong with your hand
Hold the bong from the bottom or wrap your hand around the smoke chamber (the long segment that joins the mouthpiece and the water chamber). Before you light it, make sure you have a strong hold.
5. Prepare
Put your mouth on the mouthpiece. Light the lighter with your free hand. Tilt the lighter on its side and bring the flame to the bowl. Position the flame so you’re only burning the edge of the cannabis in the bowl.
6. Inhale slowly as you’re lighting the bowl
The smoke shouldn’t be going into your mouth or lungs at this point. You’re just using your inhale to draw the smoke up into the smoke chamber. As you’re inhaling, you should start to see the chamber getting cloudy as it fills with smoke.
7. Stop lighting the bowl when you’re satisfied with the amount of smoke
Set the lighter aside or hold it in your hand. Stop inhaling, but don’t remove your mouth from the mouthpiece or the smoke in the smoke chamber will escape.
Some tips when using a Bong
1. Prevent Couching with a Mint
Everybody’s heard that coughing means you are smoking correctly. Whether or not it’s true, the fact is that most people tend to cough. But they don’t have to.
The reason that people cough while smoking a perc bong is simple: the smoke creates a dry mouth and throat. While drinking water and smoking simultaneously is out of the question, there is another solution.
Keeping a mint or gum will help create moisture in your mouth by causing you to salivate. This may prevent some degree of coughing. However, if you take this approach, be sure to refrain from choking.
2. Don’t drink alcohol before using
Drinking alcohol decreases your breathing capacity, so avoid drinking if you plan to take large hits.
3. Cool Down the Smoke
The percolators in a perc bong already lower the smoke’s temperature quite a bit. The good news is that there are other ways to cool down the smoke as well. Some water pipes allow for ice hits, which can be even smoother.
4. Avoid drooling into the bong
The first couple times you hit a bong, it’s easy to accidentally drool while you’re inhaling. But this is bad smoking etiquette. To avoid drooling into the bong, try these tricks:
If you feel drool start to drip out, stop inhaling, put out the bowl with the heel of your lighter and close your mouth. Do this while your mouth is still in its original position, without moving it from the inhale hole. Try to swallow as much drool as possible without exhaling.
Stop inhaling and put the bowl out. Take your mouth from the inhale hole without exhaling and cover the inhale hole with an open palm. Wipe your mouth on your sleeve and try again.