Sir, 'bidis', 'beedis' or 'beeris' are slim, hand-rolled, unfiltered cigarettes. A bidi consists of about 0.2 g of sun-dried and processed tobacco flakes, rolled in a tendu leaf (Diospyros elanoxylon) or temburni leaf and held together by a cotton thread. The tobacco rolled in bidis is different from that used in cigarettes and is referred to as 'bidi tobacco'.

The relatively low combustibility and non-porous nature of the tendu leaves requires more frequent and deeper puffs by the smoker to keep bidis lit, and is therefore harder on the smoker's lungs than cigarettes rolled in paper. Tar levels delivered by bidis are high, at 45-50 mg/bidi. One study found that bidis produced approximately three times the amount of carbon monoxide and nicotine and approximately five times the amount of tar as cigarettes. Bidis are known as the 'poor man's cigarettes', as they are smaller and cheaper than cigarettes. About 19% of tobacco consumption in India is in the form of cigarettes, while 53% is smoked as bidis. The rest occurs mainly in smokeless form.

Flavoured and herbal bidis have a very small market in India but they are marketed aggressively in the West. Herbal bidis claim to contain mixtures of herbs rolled in tendu leaves and are marketed as safer, healthier alternatives to cigarettes.

One factor that may contribute to the popularity of bidi smoking among young adults is the perception that bidis are natural or herbal. Researchers have also suggested that young people may mistakenly think that bidis are tobacco-free herbal cigarettes. Bidi smoking among college students is rare, and those who do smoke bidis often do not do so in public because of the lower social class status associated with bidi smoking. However, attitudes and perceptions might be changing among these young people.

In areas where women and children roll bidis in the absence of other income generation, strategies for research are needed on developing a diverse array of alternative income-generating opportunities. Policies aimed at holding the industry accountable for ensuring an education for all children in any way associated with bidi work, even within the home, is central to addressing the child labour issue. Finally, there is a need to reconsider regulating the bidi industry in light of the regulation of other tobacco products and to question its favoured status from the vantage point of public health.