What are bidis?
Bidis, imported primarily from India, come in various flavors (e.g., chocolate, vanilla and strawberry) and appeal to teenagers the way flavored drinks might. They look like marijuana joints, are 100 percent tobacco and have no filters. Since it takes an average of 28 puffs to keep a bidi lit until it is finished (compared to nine puffs for a cigarette), users will smoke them harder and inhale more tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. One study found that bidis produce approximately three times the carbon monoxide and nicotine and approximately five times the amount of tar as cigarettes. Bidis increase the user’s risk for coronary heart disease, as well as oral cancers and cancer of the lungs, stomach and liver.
