OBJECTIVE To measure and compare the breath carbon monoxide (CO) levels in cigarette and bidi smokers in India. METHODS Breath CO was measured in 389 smokers (241 cigarette smokers,148 bidi smokers) using portable breath CO analyser (Bedfont-England, Smokelyzer). Tobacco contents and length of single stick of different brands of cigarette and bidi were also measured. RESULTS Their mean age ...

BACKGROUND Bidis, the most common smoking tobacco product in India, remain largely untaxed and are subject to very few regulations to discourage their use. A major argument against tax increases is the large potential loss of economic activity and employment in the bidi industry from reduced consumption. METHODS We used a nationally representative survey of unorganised bidi manufacturing firm...

BACKGROUND In addition to cigarettes, bidi, made of unprocessed and low-grade tobacco, is being smoked widely in Bangladesh and in other south Asian countries. The cause-and-effect relationship is established between thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) and smoking. However, type of smoking material(s) most strongly related to TAO is not yet determined. METHODS We conducted a hospital-based case-...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to increase government, civil society and media attention to the tobacco-poverty connection in Bangladesh, particularly as it relates to bidi-dependent livelihoods. DATA SOURCES This study consisted of a literature review that examined the socioeconomic impacts of tobacco farming, the working conditions of tobacco workers and the impact of tobacco on consumers, an...

BACKGROUND From among a cohort of 65,553 men aged 30-84 in Karunagappally Taluk, Kerala, India, 52 hypopharyngeal cancer cases and 85 laryngeal cancer cases were identified by the Karunagappally Cancer Registry during the period between 1990 and 2009. METHODS We conduct Poisson regression analysis of grouped data, taking into account age and education. RESULTS This study showed that the inc...

Bidi cigarettes, or bidis, are a tobacco product that originated in India and have been gaining popularity in the USA during the past few years, particularly with adolescents. As with conventional cigarettes, tobacco and smoke from bidis contain chemical constituents including carcinogenic chemicals such as the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). To help better assess the potential public he...

Socioeconomic differences in tobacco use have been reported, but there is a lack of evidence on how they vary according to types of tobacco use. This study explored socioeconomic differences associated with cigarette, bidi, smokeless tobacco (SLT), and dual use (smoking and smokeless tobacco use) in India and tested whether these differences vary by gender and residential area. Secondary analys...

OBJECTIVE To compare the nicotine content of 12 unfiltered brands of bidi cigarettes (hand rolled cigarettes imported from India) with 8 popular brands of filtered and unfiltered US and conventional cigarettes from India. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Identical laboratory procedures were used to determine nicotine content (in duplicate) and physical characteristics. RESULTS The nicotine concentrati...

This article discusses the role of bidi smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer. A review of the documented evidence is presented. The literature from Pubmed has been searched using the key words 'beedi smoking', 'bidi smoking' and 'lung cancer'. The bibliographies of all papers found were further searched for additional relevant articles. After this thorough search, eight studies were found. ...

BACKGROUND Limited data are available on smoking-related mortality in low-income countries, where both chronic disease burden and prevalence of smoking are increasing. METHODS Using data on 20,033 individuals in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS) in Bangladesh, we prospectively evaluated the association between tobacco smoking and all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular di...