A beedi ( /ˈbiːdiː/; from Hindi: बीड़ी; also spelled bidi or biri) is a thin, Indian cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu leaf tied with a string at one end.
The word comes from beeda, Marwari for a leaf wrapped in betel nuts, herbs, and condiments.
A traditional method of tobacco use throughout South Asia and parts of the Middle East, today beedies are popular and inexpensive in India. There, beedi consumption outpaces that of conventional cigarettes although these tobacco-filled leaves deliver more nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar and carry a greater risk of oral cancers.
A beedi ( /ˈbiːdiː/; from Hindi: बीड़ी; also spelled bidi or biri) is a thin, Indian cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu leaf tied with a string at one end.
The word comes from beeda, Marwari for a leaf wrapped in betel nuts, herbs, and condiments.
A traditional method of tobacco use throughout South Asia and parts of the Middle East, today beedies are popular and inexpensive in India. There, beedi consumption outpaces that of conventional cigarettes although these tobacco-filled leaves deliver more nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar and carry a greater risk of oral cancers.