TY - JOUR
T1 - Tobacco consumption and the poor
T2 - an ethnographic analysis of hand-rolled cigarette (bidi) use in Bangladesh
AU - Roy, Anupom
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Bidis, or hand-rolled, filterless tobacco cigarettes, are largely marketed to and consumed by the poor in Bangladesh. In exploring perceived rationales and the situational contexts of smoking, this study identifies the crucial connections between bidi smoking and the social and economic forces that influence choices and shape the contexts of individual suffering. Ethnographic research in Netrakona District revealed that inexpensive bidis were used to gain relief from physical ailments specific to the poor, such as hunger, indigestion and constipation. Bidis were found to be a socially accepted mood-altering drug that symbolizes relief from their everyday tensions, angers, perceived exploitations and disappointments. I argue that both cultural norms of reciprocity and hierarchy as well as the socio-economic structure of Bangladesh with its inequality, poverty and exploitation contribute to the tobacco consumption and related health problems of the poor.
AB - Bidis, or hand-rolled, filterless tobacco cigarettes, are largely marketed to and consumed by the poor in Bangladesh. In exploring perceived rationales and the situational contexts of smoking, this study identifies the crucial connections between bidi smoking and the social and economic forces that influence choices and shape the contexts of individual suffering. Ethnographic research in Netrakona District revealed that inexpensive bidis were used to gain relief from physical ailments specific to the poor, such as hunger, indigestion and constipation. Bidis were found to be a socially accepted mood-altering drug that symbolizes relief from their everyday tensions, angers, perceived exploitations and disappointments. I argue that both cultural norms of reciprocity and hierarchy as well as the socio-economic structure of Bangladesh with its inequality, poverty and exploitation contribute to the tobacco consumption and related health problems of the poor.
KW - Bangladesh
KW - beedi
KW - bidi
KW - hand-rolled cigarette
KW - poverty
KW - smoking
KW - South Asia
KW - structural inequality
KW - tobacco
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84876120412&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1466138111413337
DO - 10.1177/1466138111413337
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84876120412
SN - 1466-1381
VL - 13
SP - 162
EP - 188
JO - Ethnography
JF - Ethnography
IS - 2
ER -