Beedi
- For "bidi" scripts, see Bi-directional text. For the Hindi song, see Omkara (film).
A beedi (
/ˈbiːdiː/; from Hindi: बीड़ी; also spelled bidi[1] or biri[2]) is a thin, South Asian[3] cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu leaf tied with a string at one end.
The word comes from beeda, Marwari for a leaf wrapped in betel nuts, herbs, and condiments.[4]
A traditional method of tobacco use throughout South Asia and parts of the Middle East,[5] today beedies are popular[2] and inexpensive[6] in India. There, beedi consumption outpaces that of conventional cigarettes[2] although these tobacco-filled leaves deliver more nicotine,[7] carbon monoxide[8] and tar[8] and carry a greater risk of oral cancers.[3]
Beedies accounted for 48% of Indian tobacco consumption in 2008.[2]
Like all tobacco use, beedis increase the risk of certain kinds of cancers, heart disease and lung disease.[8]
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[edit] History of the beedi
Indian tobacco cultivation began in the late 17th century,[9] and beedies were first created when tobacco workers took left over tobacco and rolled it in leaves.[9]
The commercial Indian beedi industry saw rapid growth during the 1930s[10] probably driven by an expansion of tobacco cultivation at the time[11] but also helped by Gandhi's support of Indian industry and Indian products.[12] Perhaps due to this, educated classes in India grew to prefer beedies over cigarettes[9] although this is no longer the case.[13] Muslim leaders, calling cigarettes foreign products, have also endorsed beedies over cigarettes at times.[14]
By the middle of the 20th century beedi manufacture had grown into a highly competitive industry.[9] This stage of commercial production—at the height of the beedi's popularity[citation needed]—saw the creation of many new beedi brands[9] as well as beedi factories employing upwards of one hundred, primarily male,[10] beedi rollers.[10]
Factory-based beedi production declined as a result of increased regulation during the 1940s, '50s and '60s[11] and beedi-making became a cottage industry with a home-based women workforce predominantly employed only in the beedi rolling.[11] In contrast, males continue to be employed in all aspects of beedi production.[11]
[edit] Use
Unlike cigarettes, beedies must be puffed frequently to keep them lit, and doing so requires effort.[15]
[edit] Poor man's cigarette
Beedi smoking tends to be associated with a lower social standing,[13] and these inexpensive–2-8 rupees (USD $0.05 -0.18) for a pack[6]–tobacco products seldom see use among respected people. Those with a high social standing who do smoke beedies often do so out of the public eye.[13]
[edit] Beedies in the United States
In the United States, beedies are treated like conventional cigarettes. They are taxed at the same rates,[5] are required to have a tax stamp and must carry the Surgeon General's warning.[5] A study done in San Francisco showed that about 4 in 10 packs of beedies did not contain the required warning label and 7 in 10 did not carry the tax stamp, however.[5] 2006 statistics on beedi usage shows that 2.9% of high school students in the United States take part in beedi smoking compared to 1.4% of adults 18–24 years old.[16]
[edit] Flavored beedies
Some beedies are flavored.[15] Both the US and Canada have banned flavored cigarettes.[17]
[edit] Manufacture
Over 3 million Indians are employed in the manufacture of beedies,[18] a cottage industry that is typically done by women in their homes.[19]
Workers roll an average of 500-1000 beedies per day, handling 225-450 grams of tobacco flake, and inhaling tobacco dust and other volatile components present in the work environment.[20] Studies have shown that cotinine levels in the bodily fluids of beedi workers are elevated even among those who do not use tobacco.[20]
It is estimated that 325,000 children work rolling beedies despite beedi manufacture being classified by the India Child Labor Prohibition and Regulation Act as hazardous work.[5]
[edit] Tendu leaves
Tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) leaves make excellent wrappers, and the success of the beedi is due, in part, to this leaf.[9] The leaves are in abundance shortly after the tobacco crop is cured and so are ready to be used in beedi manufacture.[9] Collected in the summer and made into bundles, the leaves are dried in the sun for 3 to 6 days before being used as wrappers.[15]
[edit] Beedis v. Cigarettes
India is the largest producer of beedi. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the major beedi manufacturing hubs in India.
[edit] References
- ^ Dhar, Sujoy (Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:43pm EST). "Indian girls fight back against child marriage". KOLKATA, India: Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/11/19/us-india-childmarriage-idUSTRE5AI0GR20091119. Retrieved Jun 11, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Sunley, Emil M. (January 2008). India: The Tax Treatment of Bidis. Bloomberg Philanthropies. ISBN 978-2-914365-35-2. http://www.tobaccofreeunion.org/files/44.pdf.
- ^ a b Rahman, Mahbubur; Mahbubur Rahman, Junichi Sakamoto, Tsuguya Fukui (10 September 2003). "Bidi smoking and oral cancer: A meta-analysis". International Journal of Cancer (Wiley-Liss, Inc.) 106 (4): 600–604. doi:10.1002/ijc.11265.
- ^ Bhargava's Standard Illustrated Dictionary of the Hindi Language. Bhushan Press. 1976. p. 312.
- ^ a b c d e "Bidi cigarettes : An emerging threat to adolescent health". Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine (Chicago, IL: American Medical Association) 154 (12): 1187–1189. 2000. ISSN 1072-4710.
- ^ a b The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in India. March 2010. ISBN 978-2-914365-70-3. http://www.tobaccofreecenter.org/files/pdfs/en/India_tobacco_taxes_report_en.pdf.
- ^ Delnevo, CD; Pevzner, ES; Hrywna, M; Lewis, MJ (2004). "Bidi Cigarette use among Young Adults in 15 States". Preventive Medicine 39 (1): 207–211. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.01.025. PMID 15208004.
- ^ a b c "Bidis and Kreteks". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. June 8, 2011. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/bidis_kreteks/. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lal, Pranay (25 MAY 2009). "Bidi – A short history". Current Science (Bangalore, India: Current Science Association) 96 (10): 1335–1337. http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/may252009/1335.pdf. Retrieved 11 JUNE 2011.
- ^ a b c Democracy at work in an Indian industrial cooperative: the story of Kerala Dinesh Beedi. Cornell International Report. Volume 34. Cornell University Press. 1998. pp. 23–25. ISBN 0801484154, 9780801484155. http://books.google.com/?id=NE_rFL78i90C&lpg=PA22&dq=beedi#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ a b c d "Making ends meet: Bidi workers in India today; A study of four states". Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office. 2003. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/food/wp202.pdf. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ^ Census of India, Central Provinces and Berar. XII. 1931.
- ^ a b c Kamboj, M. (2008). "Bidi Tobacco". British Dental Journal 205 (12): 639. doi:10.1038/sj.bdj.2008.1088.
- ^ Imām, Hassan (1999). Indian national movement. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD.. pp. 200. ISBN 8126101997, 9788126101993. http://books.google.com/books?id=0AFo-zNYKScC&lpg=PA2&dq=Indian%20National%20Movement%20Study%20on%20the%20role%20of%20contribution%20made%20by%20people%20of%20Bihar%20towards%20the%20national%20movement%20during%201919%E2%80%9331.&pg=PA200#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ a b c Gupta, Prakash C. (1992). Control of tobacco-related cancers and other diseases: proceedings of an international symposium, January 15–19, 1990, TIFR, Bombay. Prakash C. Gupta. pp. 29. ISBN 0195629612, 9780195629613. http://books.google.com/books?id=-Zqo67BjH7UC&lpg=PP1&dq=Control%20of%20Tobacco-related%20Cancers%20and%20Other%20Diseases&pg=PA29#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ "2006 National Youth Tobacco Survey and Key Prevalence Indicators". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/surveys/nyts.
- ^ For US banning flavored tobacco, see Heavey, Susan (Tue Sep 22, 2009 6:50pm EDT). "U.S. FDA, in first tobacco action, bans flavors". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2236998020090922. Retrieved Jun 11, 2011.
- For Canada banning flavored tobacco, see Dowd, Allan (Thu Oct 8, 2009 4:04pm EDT). "Canada bans fruit-flavored cigarettes". VANCOUVER, British Columbia: Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/10/08/us-tobacco-idUSTRE5975GD20091008?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r1:c1.000000:b30639980:z0. Retrieved Jun 11, 2011.
- ^ Govekar, RB; Bhisey, RA (1992). "Elevated urinary thioether excretion among bidi rollers exposed occupationally to processed tobacco". International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health 64 (2): 101–104. doi:10.1007/BF00381476. PMID 1399018.
- ^ "Restoring the Balance: Women and forest resources". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, Forestry Department. 1987. http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/S5500E/S5500E08.htm. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ^ a b Mahimkar, MB; Bhisey, RA (1995). "Occupational exposure to bidi tobacco increases chromosomal aberrations in tobacco processors". Mutation Research 334 (2): 139–144. PMID 7885365.
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