Gallegly Submits Bill to Ban Bidi Import
Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) has introduced a bill in Congress that would prohibit the import of bidi cigarettes.
The hand-rolled cigarettes, imported primarily from India, come in a variety of flavors, including mint, wild cherry, chocolate and grape.
Gallegly criticized bidi importers for targeting children.
“Cigarettes with candy-like flavors have no place in our society,” said Gallegly, who introduced the bill this week with Rep. Jim Hansen of Utah, co-chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Tobacco and Health.
The cigarettes, which cost less than name-brand cigarettes, contain five times the tar and three times the nicotine of the conventional brands.
Earlier this year, Ventura County students staged a protest at the Moorpark corporate headquarters of Kretek International, a tobacco distributor, and collected more than 1,000 signatures on a petition opposing the importation of bidis.
The Tri-County Regional Team, a nonprofit agency funded by cigarette taxes, held classes to teach students how bidi distributors allegedly target underage smokers.
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