Smoking Bidi has been linked to an increased prevalence and risk of cardiovascular and respiratory complications in men, according to a recent study published in the international medical journal, The Lancet Global Health.
Bidis are hand-rolled tobacco products that are generally manufactured in cottage industries, hence, they are inexpensive and their sale is minimally regulated by local and international tobacco regulations. As a result, they are packaged with poorly visible health warnings. Also, they appeal to young adults as “natural and safe” tobacco alternatives to cigarettes because they come in herbal and flavored varieties.
In India and Bangladesh alone, there were estimated 53 million users of bidis in the years 2003 to 2009. Presently, South Asia is the second largest consumer of tobacco in the world, with more than 130 million tobacco smokers, the majority of which are among the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of the population. Although the harmful effects of smoking tobacco as cigarette have been well established, the effects of smoking tobacco in the form of Bidis is less known.
A research aimed to study the effects of smoking bidi was carried out in seven centers in three South Asian countries, namely India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The Indian Council of Medical Research coordinated the study in India. It recruited approximately 15 thousand men of 158 communities; aged 35–70 years, who were non-smokers, light smokers (≤10 pack-years), or heavy smokers of bidis (>10 pack-years). The men were followed up for an average 5·6 years to study cardiovascular outcomes like myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, sudden death, cardiovascular-related death, cardiovascular-related hospital admission, and respiratory complications such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.
The study found that smoking bidi was associated with a higher prevalence and risk for cardiorespiratory symptoms. This calls for stricter controls and regulation of bidis to reduce the tobacco-related disease burden in south Asia.
Reference: The Lancet Global Health 5 (2): e168 - e176.
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