Are Bidi Cigarettes Safe?

Question: Are Bidi Cigarettes Safe?

What are bidi cigarettes and are they safer to smoke than traditional cigarettes?

Answer: Bidis (pronounced bee-dees) are small hand-rolled cigarettes manufactured in India and other southeast Asian countries. They are exported to as many as 122 countries, according to one bidi manufacturer.

Bidi cigarettes are made of tobacco wrapped in tendu or temburni leaf (Diospyros melanxylon). The bidi is typically tied on one or both ends with a colorful string. Bidis are produced in a wide variety of flavors including:

• chocolate
• mango
• vanilla
• lemon-lime
• mint
• pineapple
• cherry

Referred to as cigarettes with training wheels by health authorities, the overall appearance and taste of this product is especially appealing to young smokers.

Bidi cigarettes gained popularity in the United States in the mid-1990's. By 1999, there was a call to action against bidis by the States Attorneys General urging Congress and federal officials to stop the import of this toxic product geared toward children.

From Attorney General Tom Miller:

"Bidis are more damaging to health than traditional cigarettes and they are flavored to make them attractive to children. That's a lethal combination."

Bidi Facts

• Bidi cigarettes contain more than three times the amount of nicotine and carbon monoxide as traditional cigarettes.
• Bidi cigarettes contain five times as much tar as regular cigarettes.
• Because bidis don't have chemicals added to aid in combustion, the smoker must draw on a bidi cigarette more often and with more force in order to keep it from going out. This results in higher concentrations of toxins breathed in than with traditional cigarettes. Smokers puff on a bidi cigarette approximately 28 times as opposed to 9 puffs on a regular cigarette.
• Bidi smokers have a greater risk of heart disease, lung cancer and other cancers than do people who smoke traditional cigarettes.
• It's estimated that approximately 3 percent of current high school students smoke bidi cigarettes.
• It's also estimated that male high school students smoke bidi cigarettes at a rate twice as high (4 percent) as female high school students(2 percent).
• Bidis attract young smokers because they are easier to obtain, provide a "rush" of nicotine, are small, flavored and look like marijuana joints.
• Bidi packaging often does not contain the health warning labels that traditional cigarettes do.

Bidi cigarettes are a dangerous alternative to traditional cigarette smoking. Parents should proactively teach their children early on about dangers of bidi cigarettes and smoking in general.

References:

CDC Factsheet on Bidis and Kreteks
Attorneys General Call for Action Against "Bidi" Cigarettes
The American Lung Association of Oregon

Published: 3-11-2006

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