Hookah vs. Bong — What's the Difference?

The Hookah uses water to cool and filter the tobacco smoke.

The Bong's design allows for direct inhalation of cooled smoke.

A Hookah is a traditional water pipe used for smoking flavored tobacco.

Bongs utilize water to both cool and somewhat purify the smoke.

Originating in ancient times, Hookahs are popular in Middle Eastern cultures.

A Bong is a water-filtered pipe primarily designed for cannabis consumption.

Smoking Hookah is often a communal activity in social settings.

Bongs come in various sizes and artistic designs.

With its intricate design, a Hookah can have multiple hoses for shared use.

Using a Bong enhances the intensity of the cannabis experience.

A hookah (Hindustani: حقّہ (Nastaleeq), हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari), IPA: [ˈɦʊqːa]; also see other names), or shisha, is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco (often Mu‘assel), or sometimes cannabis, hashish, and in the past opium. The smoke is passed through a water basin—often glass-based—before inhalation.The health risks of smoking through a hookah include exposure to toxic chemicals that are not filtered out by the water and risk of infectious disease when hookahs are shared.The hookah or waterpipe was invented by Abu’l-Fath Gilani, a Persian physician of Akbar, in the Indian city of Fatehpur Sikri during Mughal India; the hookah spread from the Indian subcontinent to Persia first, where the mechanism was modified to its current shape, and then to the Near East.

A bong (also known as a water pipe) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

An oriental tobacco pipe with a long, flexible tube which draws the smoke through water contained in a bowl.

A low-pitched, resonant sound of the kind made by a large bell

A pipe traditionally used for smoking flavored tobacco in which tobacco is placed in a bowl and heated with burning charcoal, producing smoke that is drawn through an urn of water that cools it and then into a long tube with an attached mouthpiece. In some modern versions, the charcoal-heated bowl is replaced with a battery-powered vaporizer containing a liquid mixture similar to that used in an e-cigarette. Also called hubble-bubble, narghile, shisha.

A water pipe used for smoking cannabis or other drugs.

An e-cigarette or a vaporizer pen. Also called hookah pen.

A large piton.

(recreational inhalants) Smoking A pipe with a long flexible tube that draws the smoke through water, traditionally used for smoking tobacco, which is often flavored.

(especially of a bell) emit a low-pitched, resonant sound.

(diving) A tank-less surface air compressor pump and umbilical piping system that supplies air to a diving mask

A deep ringing sound, as of a bell.

A pipe with a long, flexible stem, so arranged that the smoke is cooled by being made to pass through water. Also called narghile and water pipe. The hubble-bubble is a simple form of this device.

A water pipe that consists of a bottle or a vertical tube partially filled with liquid and a smaller tube ending in a bowl, used often in smoking narcotic substances.

An oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water;

To cause to sound with a deep ringing noise.

To make a deep ringing noise.

(slang) The clang of a large bell.

(slang) Doorbell chimes. en

A vessel, usually made of glass or ceramic and filled with water, used in smoking various substances; especially marijuana.

An act of smoking one serving of drugs from a bong.

A device for rapidly consuming beer, usually consisting of a funnel or reservoir of beer and a length of tubing.

(ethnic slur) An Australian Aboriginal person.

(slang) To pull a bell.

(slang) To ring a doorbell.

To smoke a bong.

Ring loudly and deeply;

A Hookah is designed for flavored tobacco with multiple hoses, while a Bong is for cannabis with a singular stem.

Hookahs originated in ancient India and Persia.

Yes, smoking Hookah carries health risks similar to smoking cigarettes, including exposure to tobacco and combustion byproducts.

A Bong is primarily used for smoking cannabis.

Ideally, after each use to ensure clean and smooth hits.

In many places, Bongs are considered drug paraphernalia and are illegal unless used or sold strictly for tobacco use.

One session of Hookah can be equivalent to smoking several cigarettes, making it potentially harmful.

A Hookah is a traditional water pipe used mainly for smoking flavored tobacco known as shisha.

Using brushes, warm water, and sometimes lemon juice or baking soda to scrub the interior parts.

While a Bong may filter some harmful substances through water, smoking cannabis still carries risks.

Primarily yes, but some people may use them for other substances, which can be more harmful.

Generally, a Bong provides a more intense experience due to the direct inhalation of cannabis smoke.

While you can't add flavors directly, flavored water or using flavored cannabis can alter the taste.

In both, the water cools and filters the smoke, making it smoother to inhale.

Yes, adding ice can further cool the smoke, making for a smoother hit.