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.
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