Bidis - India's most commonly used form of tobacco - cause tremendous health, economic and social harm. Bidi smoking claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year, while the bidi industry undermines India's economic progress and condemns millions of exploited workers to extreme poverty.
Bidis consist of shredded tobacco that are hand rolled in a tendu leaf and secured with a colorful string at one end. Bidis are usually smoked by men, but produced mainly by women and children who roll them in their homes.
