This article discusses the role of bidi smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer. A review of the documented evidence is presented. The literature from Pubmed has been searched using the key words 'beedi smoking', 'bidi smoking' and 'lung cancer'. The bibliographies of all papers found were further searched for additional relevant articles. After this thorough search, eight studies were found. The evidence suggests that bidi smoking poses a higher risk for lung cancer than cigarette smoking and risk further increases with both the length of time and amount of bidi smoking. The focus of tobacco control programs should be expanded to all types of tobacco use, including bidis, to reduce the increasing problem of lung cancer.