Occupational Health Hazards of Women Beedi Rollers in Nippani Taluk, South India

In this study, we surveyed 47 women beedi workers of Nippani, a place in North Karnataka of India known for tobacco trade and industries. We found that this labor intensive task has led to enormous health conditions in the women involved in rolling the beedis manually. Respiratory problems like cough and throat burns were reported by more than 50% of women. The incidence of Orthopedic and Ophthalmic illness was also common. Other health conditions included GI problems, Giddiness and Headache. Keywords— Beedi-workers, Tobacco, Respiratory problems, orthopedic problems, Indian small scale industry.


INTRODUCTION
A 'Bidi' also known as 'poor men's cigarrete' is a type of cheap cigarette common in South Asia. It is made up of uncured tobacco rolled in a traditional leaf (Diospyrox melanoxylon) tied up on both ends with threads. It is popular among the rural population of India and neighboring countries and mostly consumed by lower economic groups like laborers, farmers, lorry drivers, masons and others. In India approximately 800 million bidis are sold per year. Beedi rolling is a popular small-scale industry in most parts of rural India and perhaps it is the biggest unorganized sector of the country. As each beedi is rolled individually, this is an ardous and labor intensive task. 90% of the beedi workers as reported in previous studies are women. Srinivasulu 1 . These workers are mostly exposed to unburnt tobacco through nasopharyngeal and cutaneous routes. Bagwe and Bhisey 2 and Swami et al. 3 Women beedi rollers who start their profession at a very early stage of life are exposed to tobacco dust for approximately 4 -10 h each day. Various studies in different populations have suggested a number of health abnormalities which include respiratory, dermatological, reproductive, gastrointestinal disorders, eye problems and postural pains. Nippani is a part of India that is one of the notable Tobacco producer and trade market. We conducted this study in the rural beedi workers of this place.

II. RELATED WORK
The objective of the present study is to investigate the Occupational health hazards of women beedi rollers of Nippani taluk.

III. METHODOLOGY
The study was conducted in Nippani, India. Forty-seven female beedi rollers, without tobacco smoking/chewing habits were monitored for occupation related exposure to tobacco flakes and dust. Relevant information was collected by visiting the house of each beedi roller. We also ensured that all the subjects did not suffer with any serious disease and were not on any medications. The study subjects were interviewed and a questionnaire was filled for each subject, which included details about their age, educational qualification, monthly income and health problems faced by them.

Discussion
The women beedi rollers are middle aged rural women with a poor educational background. This survey depicts that these women have taken up the work of beedi rolling from organized sectors in the surrounding area. The earnings from this occupation are low but the time and efforts put up by the laborers are highly efficient. The educational levels in their children are found to be better. Women are indulged in the work for 8 hours a day throughout the week. These workers have started the job at early stage of life, they are exposed to the ill-effects of tobacco exposure by touching it with bare hands and inhalation of the tobacco dust. They encounter postural defects due to longer duration of sitting in a same posture and also orthopedic problems like pain in arms, shoulder and joints. More than 50% of the women and their families suffered from respiratory problems like throat burning and cough. The symptoms may have been caused by the tobacco dust. Other studies by Valic et al 4 , Lander and Gravesen 5 , Kjaergaard et al. 6 ,Mukhtar et al 7 ,and Osim et al .8 have also confirmed the Respiratory problems in workers occupationally exposed to tobacco. Other health conditions like gastrointestinal problems have also been encountered in the workers. This may be because nicotine is absorbed through the skin of the fingers and palm and distributed throughout the body. Nicotine excites the sensory nerves of the alimentary tract leading to increased gastrointestinal secretion. Toxic effects of nicotine on nerves have been well explained by Taylor 9 .

V. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE
The study concludes that the incidence of Orthopedic and Ophthalmic illness was also common in the women employed as beedi rollers. Other health conditions included GI problems, Giddiness and Headache. Strict precautionary measures should be taken during the work hours to prevent severe diseases.