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Bidi Use Among
Urban Youth — Massachusetts,
March-April, 1999
September 17, 1999 / Vol. 48 / No. 36
The Friday, September 17, 1999, issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
(CDC) Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), contains a report entitled, "Bidi Use Among Urban Youth
— Massachusetts,
March-April 1999." The study found that of the 642 Massachusetts urban youth
surveyed, 40 percent reported smoking bidis in their lifetime, 16 percent reported smoking
bidis at least once in the past 30 days, and 8 percent smoked 100 or more bidis in their
lifetime. Bidis are small brown cigarettes, often flavored, consisting of tobacco
hand-rolled in tendu or temburni leaf and tied with a string at one end. They are produced
in India and some southeast Asian countries, and imported to the United States.
Other facts cited in the study:
- Nearly one of five male students (19
percent) and one of 10 female students (12 percent) reported using bidis at least once
during the past month.
- Current past-month use of bidis by
race/ethnicity was 21 percent for Hispanic students compared to 14 percent for African
American and 11 percent for white students.
- When asked why they used bidis instead of
cigarettes, responses included the following: 23 percent smoked bidis because of
"taste," 18 percent reported that bidis are "cheaper," 13 percent of
students felt that bidis are "safer" than cigarettes, and 12 percent felt that
they are "easier to buy" compared to cigarettes.
Bidi Use
Among Urban Youth—Massachusetts, March-April 1999 48(36) September
17, 1999
(PDF-317K)
Bidi Use
Among Urban Youth—Massachusetts, March-April 1999 — MMWR Highlights
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