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BeBe BeeBees Bedis Bidi
jd50ae
Posts: 7,900 ✭✭✭✭✭
A short time ago I posted about an Indian acquaintance giving me a couple and I thought they were cute and kind of neat. He recently offered to get me a couple of boxes so I thought I would do some research.
Not that I think a lot of you smoke them at all but the research is not good, so don't.
Cigarettes with Training Wheels
Bidi cigarettes consist of tobacco wrapped in tendu or temburni leaf (plants that are native to Asia -- Diospyros melanxylon). Typically tied on one or both ends with string, bidis are produced in a wide variety of flavors, including chocolate, mango, vanilla, lemon-lime, mint, pineapple and cherry.
Referred to as cigarettes with training wheels by health authorities, the overall appearance and taste of this product is especially appealing to young smokers.
Bidi cigarettes gained popularity in the United States in the mid-1990s, and by 1999, there was a call to action against bidis by the State Attorneys General urging Congress and federal officials to stop the import of this toxic product geared specifically toward children.
From Attorney General Tom Miller:
"Bidis are more damaging to health than traditional cigarettes, and they are flavored to make them attractive to children. That's a lethal combination."
Bidi Cigarette Facts
1. Bidi cigarettes contain three to five times the amount of nicotine as traditional cigarettes.
2. Bidi cigarettes contain more nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide than regular cigarettes.
Since bidis don't have chemicals added to help with combustion, smokers must draw on a bidi cigarette more often and with more force in order to keep it from going out. This results in higher concentrations of toxins breathed in than with traditional cigarettes. Smokers puff on a bidi cigarette approximately 28 times as opposed to 9 puffs on a regular cigarette.
People who smoke bidis increase their risk of oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and esophageal cancer.,br>
The risk of heart disease and heart attack is three times higher for bidi smokers than nonsmokers. Bidi smoking is associated with emphysema and a fourfold increased risk of chronic bronchitis.
Young smokers are attracted to bidis, because they are easier to obtain than traditional cigarettes, provide a "rush" of nicotine, are small and flavored and look like marijuana joints.
Bidi packaging often does not contain the health-warning labels that regular cigarettes must carry.
In February of 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered four brands of bidi cigarettes to be removed from the market because the manufacturers were not able (or were unwilling) to provide documentation that proves the products do not raise new or different health concerns for the general public. The brands are:
1. Sutra Bidis 2. Sutra Bidis Red 3. Sutra Bidis Menthol 4. Sutra Bidis Red Cone Bidi cigarettes are hazardous to human health and should not be thought of as a safe-smoking alternative. Parents should proactively teach their children early on about the dangers of bidi cigarettes and smoking in general.
Sources:
CDC Factsheet on Bidis and Kreteks. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services. Accessed March 2014.
FDA issues first orders to stop sale, distribution of tobacco products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed March 2014.
(http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/teensmoking/f/bidi.htm) And the read on clove smokes is almost as bad.
Not that I think a lot of you smoke them at all but the research is not good, so don't.
Cigarettes with Training Wheels
Bidi cigarettes consist of tobacco wrapped in tendu or temburni leaf (plants that are native to Asia -- Diospyros melanxylon). Typically tied on one or both ends with string, bidis are produced in a wide variety of flavors, including chocolate, mango, vanilla, lemon-lime, mint, pineapple and cherry.
Referred to as cigarettes with training wheels by health authorities, the overall appearance and taste of this product is especially appealing to young smokers.
Bidi cigarettes gained popularity in the United States in the mid-1990s, and by 1999, there was a call to action against bidis by the State Attorneys General urging Congress and federal officials to stop the import of this toxic product geared specifically toward children.
From Attorney General Tom Miller:
"Bidis are more damaging to health than traditional cigarettes, and they are flavored to make them attractive to children. That's a lethal combination."
Bidi Cigarette Facts
1. Bidi cigarettes contain three to five times the amount of nicotine as traditional cigarettes.
2. Bidi cigarettes contain more nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide than regular cigarettes.
Since bidis don't have chemicals added to help with combustion, smokers must draw on a bidi cigarette more often and with more force in order to keep it from going out. This results in higher concentrations of toxins breathed in than with traditional cigarettes. Smokers puff on a bidi cigarette approximately 28 times as opposed to 9 puffs on a regular cigarette.
People who smoke bidis increase their risk of oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and esophageal cancer.,br>
The risk of heart disease and heart attack is three times higher for bidi smokers than nonsmokers. Bidi smoking is associated with emphysema and a fourfold increased risk of chronic bronchitis.
Young smokers are attracted to bidis, because they are easier to obtain than traditional cigarettes, provide a "rush" of nicotine, are small and flavored and look like marijuana joints.
Bidi packaging often does not contain the health-warning labels that regular cigarettes must carry.
In February of 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered four brands of bidi cigarettes to be removed from the market because the manufacturers were not able (or were unwilling) to provide documentation that proves the products do not raise new or different health concerns for the general public. The brands are:
1. Sutra Bidis 2. Sutra Bidis Red 3. Sutra Bidis Menthol 4. Sutra Bidis Red Cone Bidi cigarettes are hazardous to human health and should not be thought of as a safe-smoking alternative. Parents should proactively teach their children early on about the dangers of bidi cigarettes and smoking in general.
Sources:
CDC Factsheet on Bidis and Kreteks. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services. Accessed March 2014.
FDA issues first orders to stop sale, distribution of tobacco products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed March 2014.
(http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/teensmoking/f/bidi.htm) And the read on clove smokes is almost as bad.
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Comments
That goes for any cause; global warming, tobacco, pot, alcohol, etc.
And since there is a war on tobacco, just remember to weigh the facts and not the propaganda.
Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Very true, but it is the general consensus of all that I read. The biggest complaint/worry is the wrapper.