Comparative chemical analysis of indian bidi and American cigarette smoke
✍ Scribed by D. Hoffmann; L. D. Sanghvi; E. L. Wynder
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1974
- Tongue
- French
- Weight
- 340 KB
- Volume
- 14
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0020-7136
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Human data suggest an association between bidi smoking and cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and lung. The mainstream smoke of a popular Indian bidi and a popular US non‐filter cigarette were analyzed. Compared to cigarette smoke, bidi smoke has a high content of several toxic agents such as carbon monoxide (7.7 vs 3.5 vol. %), ammonia (284 vs 180 μg), hydrogen cyanide (903 vs 445 μg), phenol (250 vs 150 μg), other volatile phenols (264 vs 173 μg) and carcinogenic hydrocarbons, benz[a]anthracene (117 vs 81 μg) and benzo[a]pyrene (78 vs 47 ng). These chemical data suggest that the smoke of bidis has a carcinogenic activity and underline the need for bioassaying this inhalant.