Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, UK.
D Arul Selvi Rehabilitation Trust, Tirupattur, India.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2022 Oct 26;24(11):1714-1719. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntac075.
The exploitation, poor conditions, and precarity in the bidi (hand-rolled leaf cigarette) industry in India make it ripe for the application of the FCTC's Article 17, "Provision of support for economically viable alternative activities". "Bottom-up", participatory approaches give scope to explore bidi rollers' own circumstances, experiences, and aspirations.
A team of six community health volunteers using a participatory research orientation developed a questionnaire-based semi-structured interview tool. Forty-six bidi rolling women were interviewed by pairs of volunteers in two northern Tamil Nadu cities. Two follow-up focus groups were also held. A panel of 11 bidi rollers attended a workshop at which the findings from the interviews and focus groups were presented, further significant points were made and possible alternatives to bidi rolling were discussed.
Bidi workers are aware of the adverse impact of their occupation on them and their families, as well as the major risks posed by the product itself for the health of consumers. However, they need alternative livelihoods that offer equivalent remuneration, convenience, and (in some cases) dignity. Alternative livelihoods, and campaigns for better rights for bidi workers while they remain in the industry, serve to undercut industry arguments against tobacco control. Responses need to be diverse and specific to local situations, i.e. "bottom-up" as much as "top-down", which can make the issue of scaling up problematic.
Participatory approaches involving bidi workers themselves in discussions about their circumstances and aspirations have opened up new possibilities for alternative livelihoods to tobacco.
Progress with the FCTC's Article 17 has generally been slow and has focussed on tobacco cultivation rather than later stages in the production process. The bidi industry in India is ripe for the application of an alternative livelihoods approach. This study is one of the first to use participatory methods to investigate the circumstances, experiences, and aspirations of bidi workers themselves.
印度比迪烟（手工卷制烟叶卷烟）行业存在剥削、恶劣条件和不稳定等问题，这为《烟草控制框架公约》第 17 条“为经济可行的替代活动提供支持”的实施提供了条件。“自下而上”的参与式方法为探索比迪烟工人自身的情况、经验和愿望提供了空间。
由六名社区卫生志愿者组成的团队采用参与式研究方法，开发了基于问卷的半结构式访谈工具。在泰米尔纳德邦北部的两个城市，由两对志愿者对 46 名比迪烟卷制女工进行了访谈。还举行了两次后续焦点小组讨论。一个由 11 名比迪烟工人组成的小组参加了一个研讨会，会上介绍了访谈和焦点小组的调查结果，进一步提出了要点，并讨论了比迪烟卷制以外的替代选择。
比迪烟工人意识到他们的职业对他们自己和家人的不利影响，以及产品本身对消费者健康的主要风险。然而，他们需要替代生计，这些生计要提供同等的报酬、便利，（在某些情况下）尊严。替代生计，以及在他们仍在该行业时争取更好的比迪烟工人权利的运动，削弱了行业对烟草控制的反对。应对措施需要多样化，并针对当地情况，即“自下而上”和“自上而下”一样，这可能会使扩大规模的问题变得复杂。
让比迪烟工人自己参与关于他们的情况和愿望的讨论，采用参与式方法为烟草的替代生计开辟了新的可能性。
《公约》第 17 条的进展总体上较为缓慢，重点是烟草种植，而不是生产过程的后期阶段。印度的比迪烟行业已经为替代生计方法的应用做好了准备。本研究是首批使用参与式方法调查比迪烟工人自身情况、经验和愿望的研究之一。
