Water pipes
When traveling abroad to Middle Eastern and Asian countries you may have come across hookah pipes which are used to smoke tobacco or herbal substances. These water pipes were introduced in China in the late Ming Dynasty which was around the 16th Century as well as tobacco which was used in them. Hookah pipes and water pipes (also known as bongs) a pretty much the same thing, however water pipes tend to be smaller in size than hookah pipes making them more portable.
It wasn’t just in China where they became popular centuries ago they also travelled across Thailand and Africa. Bongs were used for smoking because it’s claimed that the cooling effect of the water helps to reduce the chance of burning the mouth, airways, and lungs making it safer to smoke. There are many different connotations on design of water pipes, including some with multiple pipe bongs. Generally bongs are either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. They can also be made out of different things such as glass, metal plastic and sometimes homemade out of more organic items.
In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal water pipes can only be sold if they are labelled as “Tobacco Use Only” in an attempt to get around drug paraphernalia laws.
Socialize