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California Teenagers Target Bidis, Get Backing Of Influential Congressman

Arthur J Pais in San Francisco

It is very unlikely that Congressman Lloyd Dogrett had ever heard of the word Bidis but in the past few weeks he has been getting acquainted with such brands as Mangalore Ganesh and Kailas bidis.

It is not that Dogrett, a Democrat, who represents a Texas district, has become a Bidi lover. On the other hand, he has declared a war on the Bidis. An expert on tobacco, he is in discussion with the Federal Trade Commission about the undocumented but widespread import of Bidis.

Dogrett agrees with those who are waging a war on Bidis that not only is America losing thousands of dollars in taxes; he is also convinced that thousands of Americans -- particularly the teens -- are smoking Bidis in the hope that they are not as dangerous as cigarettes. The Bidis packets do not contain the warning by the Surgeon General of America as cigarette packets do.

Calling the bedews "deadly cigarettes," Dogrett hailed a group of San Francisco teenagers who began a crusade against bidis last week, following a study extending several months by volunteers. The study was carried out by over a dozen teens at the Booker T Washington Community Center.

"These young Californians have taken the lead to protect the lives of their neighbors and friends on the other side of the world, all of whom are being exploited by the traffickers of these cigarettes," the Congressman said.

Opponents of bidis include a dozen teens at the Booker T Washington Community Center here. They believe the Indian bidis industry and their cohorts in America, reportedly small time businessmen, are exploiting American youth.

San Francisco custom officials have seized over a million untaxed bidis in the past year -- and Laurie Moss, a staff worker at the Booker T Washington Center believes that nationally the figure for smuggled bidis could run into tens of thousands each year.

A bidis packet sells for about $ 1 in key American cities, costing less than half of a cigarette packet.

The humble bidis, once a counter culture statement in the 1960s, is now available in a variety of flavors including strawberry and mint.

"They seem very trendy, very innocent and many young people think that they do not cause cancer," says Frederick Johnson, one of the dozen teens who have filed a complaint with the FTC. In fact, many teens believe, Johnson said, bidis offer a "natural high."

Bidis are cigarettes, Johnson says, emphasizing they use the "worst tobacco." He smoked one a year ago, 17-year-old Johnson says, and he would not advise anyone to try them even out of curiosity.

With the tobacco industry coughing up over $ 2.5 billion to the American states to pay for cancer treatments arising out of tobacco use, Johnson and fellow complainants believe that bidis sellers could make big profits if they are not checked.

He found many San Francisco shops that sold bidis did not even ask the ID of his friends, ranging between 14 and 17 years, who bought bidis as part of their campaign.

Several of the trendy coffee bars in San Francisco and neighboring cities like San Jose sell bidis with the same ease they sell their masala chai. But following the outcry against bidis, they expect bidis to go underground and sold at higher prices.

Johnson does not believe the California crusade will dissuade the smokers but he says he is doing his duty, and hopes that the media awareness will spur at least a few thousands to think twice before using them. Articles about the bidis have been published recently by Associated Press, the San Francisco Examiner and several other newspapers.

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