Unless you are a hobbyist or technician who solders things on a regular basis, your only acquaintance with the metallic element bismuth is probably through Pepto Bismol, the main ingredient of which is bismuth subsalicylate, a pinkish substance sold, not surprisingly, under the name of pink bismuth.
The fact that you can ingest pink bismuth and it will soothe your stomach should tell you something about its toxicity; it's quite low. And, that's why bismuth is favored over lead for soldering. It is now widely used for soldering of circuit boards and other electronic equipment, lens production for high precision equipment, alloys with low melting points (for example, in automatic sprinklers to activate them when fire breaks out) and, of course, pharmaceuticals.
All of those products are at risk as supplies of bismuth have dwindled. Those of you who read my pieces regularly can almost surely guess who is holding those supplies back. It's China. Bismuth is one of five metals on which China placed strict export limits back in February. Now those restrictions are beginning to bite.