Ask a Stoner: Is Smoking on the Toilet a Health Risk?

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Dear Stoner: Is smoking a bowl on the toilet unsanitary? My wife doesn't like me smoking in the house, so I might as well conduct both of my foul-smelling activities in one room.
Porcelain King

Dear Porcelain King: Have you ever heard of toilet plume, the aptly named cloud of invisible shrapnel released into the air after toilets are flushed? Think of it as the mushroom cloud following your gut bombs on Taco Tuesday, spreading microscopic shit particles around the bathroom. While studies show that humans with average hygiene typically don't face health risks from toilet plume, there is indirect evidence that it can spread SARS, as well as the novel coronavirus, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Infection Control.

click to enlarge

Getty Images/ioseph

Closing the lid when flushing is a simple way to cover most of the remnants of your intestinal depth charge, but it still doesn't protect pipes and lighters — much less the mouthpieces and exposed flower from the germs on bathroom surfaces. And ashing a joint or pipe while on the shitter presents its own cleanliness and safety obstacles. Sorry to soil the royal activity, my liege.

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