in our country (and possibly the rest of Europe) cops are even more suspicious about things like that than obvious bongs (and you are not likely to take one across European borders anyway as they are bulky and fragile and there is likely to be an equally good one available in the country you are visiting).
In Europe cannabis is still illegal but classed as “soft drugs” in our law – taking hard drugs like heroin or diverting pharms is viewed as a worse crime.
Cops know what bongs (traditional cannabis pipes) look like but are more likely to suspect “modern smoking equipment” (including some vapourisers) even if dismantled as being used for smoking hard drugs (crack cocaine, heroin, crystal meth etc) , something to do with processing diverted pharm grade opiates (widely prescribed to middle aged and seniors) or worst of all potential terrorist equipment.
The terrorist attackers at Paris were found to be in posession a large amount of syringes and other lab equipment with them; it is at present unclear whether they had been taking hard drugs or if it was used to process the explosives for the attack as much of the equipment could be used for either purpose.
However the design of pipes used for smoking cannabis hasn’t changed a great deal from the 1980s/1990s – the first one in Tryptameanies pictures was in common use from 1989-1992; it might well be the same design. I was quite surprised to see this design still common today (it seems more of the era of “on a mission” stickers; MA2 flight jackets etc) but it seems to have endured the decades.
There seems to be more effort put into design/appearance than ones I have seen in the South in recent times; though it wouldn’t surprise me if they are made by the same companies that make other more “innocent” stuff like tea sets and china animals that old granny ladies collect; a lot of which still appears to be made in the North of Britain today…..
