A vaporizer is a device used to release the active ingredients of plant material. It can be used for cannabis, tobacco and to release therapeutic compounds from herbs. Vaporizing is an alternative to smoking. Rather than burning the herb, which produces numerous harmful by-products, a vaporizer heats the material so that the active compounds contained in the plant melt and phase into an aromatic vapor, not smoke. This vapor contains less to no tar and reduced noxious gases such as carbon monoxide. Vapors can be filtered and cooled further using a water pipe or an inline water/ice attachment. Then the vapors are inhaled or stored for subsequent inhalations in a "dome" or "balloon".