Abstract
Bidi, an indigenous form of cigarette in South Asian countries, is popular because of its low cost and multi-flavored variants. Although recent studies have shown that bidi smokers suffer from various adverse health effects including cancer, research on bidi smoke composition and exposure levels is still very limited. In this research, the vapor and particulate phases of bidi were characterized using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The amounts of nicotine, cotinine, indole, substituted phenols, substituted pyridines, and phytol found in different size fractions of the particulate matter collected using a cascade impactor were reported. Due to the low combustibility of the tendu leaf in bidi, a six-second puff interval was used to sample the smoke constituents for analysis. Significant levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and hydrocarbons like ethylene, methane and 1, 3-butadiene were detected in the mainstream bidi smoke. In addition, 3-methylpyridine, cotinine, α-amyrin, and β-amyrin were also present at high levels in bidi smoke. Despite having less tobacco compared to conventional cigarette, bidi smokers are potentially exposed to significantly higher concentrations of nicotine due to the greater puffing frequency. The non-porous nature and higher moisture content of tendu leaf in bidis compared to cigarette wrapping paper led to higher levels of carbon monoxide and tar in bidi smoke compared to regular cigarette smoke. Results of this study indicate the presence of harmful and carcinogenic chemicals in the mainstream bidi smoke that could be harmful to human health.
Highlights
Bidis are slim, cylindrical, hand-rolled cigarettes indigenous to South Asian countries [3]
Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) analysis Figure 1 shows the infrared spectrum of unflavored Seyadu bidi mainstream smoke collected at 0.583 L per minute
Hydrogen cyanide is a ciliatoxin; both benzene and 1,3-butadiene has been classified as human carcinogens by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) [34, 35]
Summary
Cylindrical, hand-rolled cigarettes indigenous to South Asian countries [3]. A report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that 0.8% of all middle school students and 0.9% of all high school students in the USA smoked bidi during the period of 2011–2014 [4]. There is a greater prevalence among heavy bidi smokers who show low ventilatory capacity and cardiorespiratory symptoms including wheezing, coughing, dyspnea or shortness of breath, and chest pain compared to non-smokers. There is a greater baseline respiratory morbidity and higher risks of mortality linked to heavy bidi smokers, especially among low socio-economic and elderly smokers [9]. Despite many reports on the harmful effects of bidi smoking, the current knowledge about the chemical constituents of the mainstream bidi smoke (smoke that goes through the length of the bidi before being inhaled) is minuscule
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