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In a bid to boost bidi sales, the tobacco industry is using Facebook, openly leveraging social media platforms to advertise harmful products, in violation of India’s tobacco control legislation, according to  a report titled, ‘Selling Death on Social Media: How Bidis Are Reaching Consumers Online’ by Vital Strategies, a public health organisation, Times Of India reported on Thursday.

The organisation details digital media monitoring data with 344 instances of bidi marketing on Social media between December 2020 and August 2021, almost exclusively through Facebook (98%).

This has increasingly become a growing public health concern, as evidences suggests that it leads to an increased chances of tobacco use among the youth, said the study.

Facebook most used platform

Out of the 267 million tobacco users in India, more than one-fourth smoke bidis, with almost half (47%) of users smoking their first bidi before their 10th birthday. It is estimated that eight times as many bidis as cigarettes are sold in India, owing to easier accessibility through out the country and cheaper prices compared to cigarettes.

According to the findings from the study, smokeless tobacco products were marketed most often on Instagram at 42%, followed by Facebook at 39% and Youtube at 12%. Smoking tobacco products were marketed on Facebook at 53%, followed by Instagram at 31% and Twitter at 10%, it added.

Advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco is banned across platforms, including marketing on the internet, under India’s national tobacco control law, the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.

Facebook hosts at least 30 distinct pages for beedi companies, with many using facebook pages to facilitate sales, the study said. In almost 80% of the cases, Bidis are being openly marketed on social media with clear pictures of the product in nearly 80% of the cases.