Health Hazards Among the Women Beedi Workers of Farakka and Lalgola C.D. Blocks in West Bengal’s Murshidabad District

Beedi is a small, handmade, non-filtered, and non-flavoured cigarette. It is manufactured by rolling tiny amounts of tobacco in tendu leaf and securing them with cotton thread. In India, beedi is the most widely used tobacco for smoking. In terms of its potential to provide numerous people with work possibilities, the beedi industry holds a major position in rural development. The majority of beedi labourers are economically backward and from an underclass society. The primary reason for working in this field is poverty and the unavailability of other jobs. An ancient major cottage industry is beedi, which offers mainly women employment in the home-based unorganised sector of Farakka and Lalgola C.D. blocks as well as Murshidabad. Women work for 10–11 hours per day to support their families. The maximum married female population is engaged in this sector. Ironically, the women are unaware of how badly this work is affecting their health due to the family members’ lack of knowledge of their rights and basic education. Chronic inhalation of tobacco smoke exposes women of any age to many health risks, including cancer, tuberculosis, asthma, eye problems, etc. If no action is taken in this regard by beedi workers and the government, it will one day cause a huge epidemic. The goal of this study is to investigate the level of health hazards among the women beedi workers of Farakka and Lalgola C.D. blocks in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.