How common is smoking tobacco in India

Yes, the reply struck me as something of a non sequitur too. I wasn’t saying they were good for you or anything (that would be a very stupid claim), rather that I enjoyed smoking them. They have a good flavour - although to be fair to BarnOwl, that’s a subjective opinion.

Oh, and a tip for anyone contemplating smoking a bidi (or beedie, or biri, or what have you): make sure you have something to drink with it. I find that they dry out my mouth.

Just to put things in the right perspective. The red stains are essentially from kattha, one of the ingredients in paan that is chewed with or without tobacco.