Flavored Cigarettes (Bidis) Popular Among Youth

Bidis (or beedies), small, flavored, filterless cheap cigarettes made in India, have been gaining popularity among America's teenagers since the mid-1990s. They are easier and cheaper to buy than cigarettes, and adolescents like their taste. Made of shredded tobacco rolled in dried tendu leaves and secured with string, they come in a variety of flavors, including chocolate, vanilla, cherry, licorice, menthol and mango. Studies show that the nicotine content in bidis is far higher than regular cigarettes; bidis also have three times more carbon monoxide and five times the amount of tar as filtered cigarettes. Consequently, they are not a "safe" alternative to cigarettes, although many adolescents believe they are. Smoking bidis can lead to oral cancer, lung cancer and other health problems similar to those caused by standard cigarettes.

The 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that 5.4 percent of middle school students and 14.1 percent of high school students had smoked bidis. A San Francisco study found that bidis were sold to minors without age identification twice as often as regular cigarettes. Bidis can also be purchased over the Internet. A Massachusetts study on the prevalence of bidi use among urban youth found that among the 642 teenagers surveyed, 40 percent had smoked a bidi and 16 percent were current bidi smokers. When asked why they used bidis instead of cigarettes, 23 percent said because of "taste," 18 percent reported that bidis are "cheaper," 13 percent felt that bidis are "safer" than cigarettes, and 12 percent felt that they are "easier to buy" compared with cigarettes.
Federal Action

Federal regulations on the sale of bidis include:

Packs must display the surgeon general's warning.

It is illegal for retailers to sell bidis to individuals under 18.

Bidis must be taxed at the same rate as cigarettes and must bear tax stamps.

The U.S. Customs Service banned the importation of bidis produced by Ganesh Bidi Works in Mangalore, India, in November 1999, after receiving evidence that the company uses indentured child labor to produce them. California Congressman Elton Gallegly introduced legislation in in the House of Representatives in April 2001 to prohibit the importation of all bidi cigarettes into the United States. At publication time, this bill had been referred to the subcommittee on trade.
State Action

A number of states ban the sale and distribution of bidis to both youth and adults. Arizona became the first state in 1999 to enact legislation banning the sale of bidis to minors under 18. Illinois was the first state the following year to prohibit the sale and distribution of bidis to youth and adults. Shortly thereafter, Vermont followed with a similar ban, a $500 fine for selling bidis and a $250 fine for purchasing them. West Virginia banned the sale of bidis completely in 2001.

New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Virginia also have laws banning the sale of bidi cigarettes to minors. These states have changed their youth access legislation to include bidi cigarettes in their definition of tobacco products. New York and Virginia direct tobacco businesses to post a sign indicating that the sale of bidis to people under 18 is prohibited by law. Virginia fines anyone who sells, distributes, purchases for or knowingly permits the purchase of bidis by a minor with $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second and $2,500 for a third or subsequent violations. The Virginia law also prohibits the purchase and possession of bidis by minors.

Seven other states introduced legislation on bidi cigarettes, including total bans and those restricting sales to minors, four bills are still being considered as of August 2001.