Beedi

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South Asian hand-made cigarette

title: "Beedi" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["types-of-cigarette", "tobacciana", "tobacco-in-india", "desi-culture", "smoking-in-india", "indian-inventions"] description: "South Asian hand-made cigarette" topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beedi" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary South Asian hand-made cigarette ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Beedibundle.jpg" caption="Packs of beedies."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Beedi_making_as_handicraft.jpg" caption="Beedi making process, rare handicrafts in Akkaraipattu, Sri Lanka. Bidi leaf (''[[Bauhinia racemosa]]'') and shredded tobacco are prepared and finalized with thread binding."] ::

A beedi (also spelled bidi or biri) is a thin cigarette or mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake and commonly wrapped in a tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) or Piliostigma racemosum leaf tied with a string or adhesive at one end. It originates from the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Marwari word beeda—a mixture of betel nuts, herbs, and spices wrapped in a leaf. It is a traditional method of tobacco use throughout South Asia and parts of the Middle East, where beedies are popular and inexpensive. In India, beedi consumption outpaces conventional cigarettes, accounting for 48% of all Indian tobacco consumption in 2008.

History

Beedies were invented after Indian tobacco cultivation began in the late 17th century. Tobacco workers were the first to create them by taking leftover tobacco and rolling it in leaves.

The commercial Indian beedi industry saw rapid growth during the 1930s

By the middle of the 20th century, beedi manufacture had grown into a highly competitive and profitable industry. This stage of commercial production—at the height of the beedi's popularity—saw the creation of many new beedi brands as well as beedi factories employing upwards of one hundred, primarily male, beedi rollers.

Factory-based beedi production declined as a result of increased regulation during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and beedi-making became a cottage industry with a home-based women workforce predominantly employed only in the beedi rolling. In contrast, males continue to be employed in other aspects of beedi production.

Beedi smoking tends to be associated with a lower social standing, as these tobacco-filled leaves are inexpensive when compared to regular cigarettes. Those with a high social standing who do smoke beedies often do so out of the public eye; however, the cultural trend is changing.

Manufacturing

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Beedi_factory_near_Nileshwaram,_Kerala,_India.jpg" caption="Factory workers hand-cut the leaves using scissors and a metal stencil guide. After cutting a sufficient number of wrappers, they will move on to roll approximately 1,000 beedies each per day."] ::

Over 3 million Indians are employed in the manufacture of beedies, a cottage industry that is typically done by women in their homes. Analysis of bidi industry in India found that in spite of increase in profits worker wages declined and female workers were paid substantially less than male workers.

Workers roll an average of 500–1000 beedies daily, handling 225 – of tobacco flake. Handling tobacco and inhaling its dust is an occupational hazard for beedi workers, as an increased level of chromosome aberrations was found in a scientific study.

The production of beedies is also popular in Bangladesh. According to the 2014 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor published by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the informal sector in these countries employs underage children in the production of beedies "in response to consumer preferences". ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Making_beedis_(1281334827).jpg" caption="Informal sector making beedi."] ::

Tendu leaf

Tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) leaves make excellent wrappers, and the success of the beedi is due, in part, to this leaf. The leaves are in abundance shortly after the tobacco crop is cured, and so are ready to be used in beedi manufacture. Collected in the summer and made into bundles, the leaves are dried in the sun for three to six days before being used as wrappers.

Global popularity

Beedies, unlike cigarettes, must be drawn frequently to keep them lit, and doing so requires effort.

North America

In the United States, beedies are treated like conventional cigarettes. They are taxed at the same rates, are required to have a tax stamp, and must carry the Surgeon General's warning. However, a study done in San Francisco showed that about four in ten packs of beedies did not contain the required warning label and seven in ten did not carry the tax stamp. Some beedies are flavoured. Both Canada and the US have banned flavoured cigarettes.

United Kingdom

Beedis are currently legal in the UK and are subject to the same taxation as cigarettes. One must be aged 18 or over to purchase them.

Health warnings

Beedies deliver more nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar, and carry a greater risk of oral cancers, than conventional cigarettes. As with many other types of smoking, beedies increase the risk of certain kinds of cancers, heart disease, and lung disease. They may also be more harmful than other forms of tobacco consumption.

The frequency of ventilatory abnormalities was highest in the cigarette smokers. A lower prevalence of chronic bronchitis and abnormal ventilatory measurements in beedi smokers, as compared with cigarette smokers, was thought to be primarily due to low total consumption of tobacco. Some added influence of smoke produced by burning the wrapper leaf and the type of tobacco used in beedies could not be ruled out.

References

References

  1. Imām, Hassan. (August 2024). "Indian national movement". Anmol Publications PVT. LTD..
  2. (5 June 2015). "Estimates of Tobacco-dependent Employment in India". Economic and Political Weekly.
  3. Kalra, Aditya. (15 April 2016). "India's traditional cigarette makers halt production over health warnings". [[Reuters]].
  4. (2020). "The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage Differentials". Frontiers in Public Health.
  5. "List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor". [[United States Department of Labor]].
  6. Sharrow Mills, [https://sharrowmills.com/pages/the-encyclopedia-of-tobacco-types-of-tobacco-guide "The Encyclopaedia of Tobacco"], ''Wilsons of Sharrow'', 2018
  7. (2014). "The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General.". National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (US) Office on Smoking and Health..
  8. (January 1974). "Chronic bronchitis in beedi smokers (preliminary communication).". The Indian Journal of Chest Diseases.
  9. (1976). "Bhargava's Standard Illustrated Dictionary of the Hindi Language". Bhushan Press.
  10. (2004). "Bidi Cigarette use among Young Adults in 15 States". Preventive Medicine.
  11. (8 June 2011). "Bidis and Kreteks". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  12. Sunley, Emil M.. (January 2008). "India: The Tax Treatment of Bidis". Bloomberg Philanthropies.
  13. (17 May 2011). "Bidi more harmful than cigarette: Study". Diligent Media Corporation Ltd..
  14. Lal, Pranay. (25 May 2009). "Bidi – A short history". Current Science.
  15. (1998). "Democracy at work in an Indian industrial cooperative: the story of Kerala Dinesh Beedi". Cornell University Press.
  16. (2003). "Making ends meet: Bidi workers in India today; A study of four states". International Labour Office.
  17. (1931). "Census of India, Central Provinces and Berar".
  18. Brahmachari Sitalprasad, Jain Bauddha TatvaJnana, JainVijay Press, 1934
  19. 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.
  20. (2008). "Bidi Tobacco". British Dental Journal.
  21. (March 2010). "The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in India".
  22. Yen, Karl L.. (2000). "Bidi cigarettes: An emerging threat to adolescent health". Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
  23. Dowd, Allan. (8 October 2009). "Canada bans fruit-flavored cigarettes". Reuters.
  24. Heavey, Susan. (22 September 2009). "U.S. FDA, in first tobacco action, bans flavors". Reuters.
  25. (1992). "Elevated urinary thioether excretion among bidi rollers exposed occupationally to processed tobacco". International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.
  26. (1987). "Restoring the Balance: Women and forest resources". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, Forestry Department.
  27. (1995). "Occupational exposure to bidi tobacco increases chromosomal aberrations in tobacco processors". Mutation Research.
  28. Dhar, Sujoy. (18 November 2009). "Indian girls fight back against child marriage". Reuters.
  29. (10 September 2003). "Bidi smoking and oral cancer: A meta-analysis". International Journal of Cancer.
  30. "Bidi Leaf Tree (reported under the synonym ''Bauhinia racemosa'')". Flowers of India.

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