The Dangers of Bidis
 Bidis are filterless cigarettes imported from India. These
cigarettes contain tobacco but are wrapped in nonporous leaves
and sold in a variety of flavors such as strawberry, mango,
cinnamon, clove, cherry and vanilla. Bidis with their enticing
aromas and low prices, has become the newest trend for our
youth today.
Bidis are referred to as cigarettes with training wheels
by health authorities:
- The smoke from a bidis contains 3 times as much nicotine
and carbon monoxide and 5 times as much tar as smoke from
regular filtered cigarettes. Due to the higher nicotine
levels bidis are more addictive than normal cigarettes.
- Bidis are being mistaken for "healthy" cigarettes
because they look natural. The truth is that they pose
more
of a threat for throat, mouth and lung cancer than do
regular cigarettes.
- Like all tobacco products, bidis are mutagenic and carcinogenic.
Bidi smokers risk coronary heart disease, cancers of the
oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, lung, esophagus, stomach and
liver.
- Not all bidi packaging has the necessary health warning
labels, as do normal filter cigarettes.
- Bidis do not burn as easy due to the wrapping (nonporous
brownish leaf), making the smoker inhale harder and more
often to keep the cigarette lit. An average of 28 puffs
for a bidi, compared to 9 puffs for a cigarette.
- Youth are attracted to bidis because they are little,
convenient (easier to buy), cheap, provide a "rush" when
smoked and look like marijuana joints.
- Women bidi workers in India work long hours for little
pay to supply the increasingly popular bidi cigarettes.
On a good day, women make 1,000 bidis, earning about 80
cents.
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