Profiting off the backs of bidi workers

Bangladesh has seen a steep decline in bidi smoking in recent years. From 2009 to 2017, bidi use among adults decreased from 11.2% to 5%.1 Bidi sales data from 2013 and 2017 provided by the National Board of Revenue show a similar trend, with the total number of bidis sold dropping by 26.7%.The total number of full-time equivalent bidi workers is 46,916 which is only 0.074% of the total national labor force (63.5 million). A bidi worker’s average monthly income is 1,927 BDT, which is extremely low compared to the national average of 13,258 BDT. With wages too low for a single earner to support a family, women and children often supplement family income working in bidi manufacturing. Among Bangladesh’s list of 38 hazardous occupation sectors, the bidi industry ranks fourth.