Bidis, which come in flashy flavors such as licorice, wild cherry and mango, can contain up to three times the nicotine and nearly five times the tar of regular cigarettes. Anti-smoking advocates call bidis " training wheel" cigarettes for children as young as 11.

In response, a number of states are taking action. Just recently, Illinois banned the sale of bidis, while Arizona banned the sale or distribution of the cigarettes. In addition 17 states have proposed a ban on the "predatory" online sales of bidis by importers to children and teens.

The issue has not gone unnoticed on a national level. Last February, a measure introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives proposed to prohibit the import of bidis.

"Bidis are like the ultimate harm-delivery device," said Michael Eriksen, director of the Office on Smoking and Health for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. "Because of the way they are manufactured, you have to puff more frequently and pull harder to keep them lit. They are exotic, candy-flavored, cost less, and look like joints, too; so they hit on a lot of cylinders that appeal to kids."

According to the Tobacco Merchant's Association (TMA), an estimated 78.4 million bidis came into the United States legally last year. But health officials are concerned that even more are coming in illegally. They base their assumptions on surveys of teen smokers and the relatively low visibility of the product in retail outlets.

In San Francisco, Calif., a survey found that bidis were sold to minors twice as often as regular cigarettes. In addition, 41 percent of the bidis purchased had no tax stamp, indicating they were black-market products.

Another survey of 642 high-school students in Massachusetts revealed that 40 percent had smoked bidis.

The nationwide 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which included bidis for the first time, showed that 5 percent of high-school students said they smoked bidis in the past month.

"Bidi use by teens is much higher than we expected on the survey and is nearly as high as smokeless tobacco," said Eriksen.

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