Jump to full article: Reuters, 2008-09-10
Intro: Smokers of rolled tobacco are nearly four times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers, researchers from India report.
Smoking "bidis" -- dried tobacco rolled in locally grown leaves -- is the most popular form of tobacco use among males in the southern Indian province of Kerala, Dr. Padmavathy Amma Jayalekshmy and colleagues write in September issue of International Journal of Cancer. . . .
"Mainstream smoke of bidi contains a much higher concentration of carcinogenic hydrocarbons such as benzanthracene and benzopyrene than US cigarettes," the researchers explain. Moreover, average bidi smokers take over five puffs per minute as compared to two puffs per minute among cigarette smokers.
"From the point of view of preventing cancer associated with smoking, whether smoking bidis or cigarettes may not be important since bidi smoking is at least as hazardous as cigarette smoking," they conclude. "Immediate measures should be taken to stop bidi smoking."
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