Bidi Factories Under Attack

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 04/16/2012

The closure of Bangladesh's bidi factories would not affect the majority of the owners of these businesses because two-thirds of them have other big businesses, according to a story in The Financial Express quoting the results of a study of bidi factories. This cannot be the case however. The closure of a business must affect the owner in some way, though the effect might be modest - and even positive - in some cases. The results of the study, conducted with the support of the Bloomberg Global Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, were announced by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) on Monday at the Dhaka Reporters Union. The study, The bidi in Bangladesh: Myths and reality, found that 65 per cent of bidi factory owners had diversified their businesses into other segments. It found them to be financially sound and politically influential. The study was said to have found, also, that bidi workers were paid poor wages, that working conditions were hazardous to health, and that child laborers were used in factories. Enditem