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This practice dates back to centuries, right up to the bronze age
where ancient human remains found having betel quid stains on the teeth.
Some only chew on dried tobacco and both cultural habits are
indulged in after meals Like tea or coffee, betel quids give users a certain ‘lift’.
And like how coffee, tea, smoking and alcoholism are addictive, so
is chewing betel quids.
But, while smoking, alcohol and caffeinated beverages addiction
are commonly condemned for their health damaging attributes, chewing betel
leaves always escapes criticism because it is imbibed in many cultures and is not
taken seriously as a habit that causes illnesses.
One can see old Indian ladies, pounding the betel nuts and then
chew on betel quids like how cows chew their cud.
In fact, in Indian culture, this habit is contained in a riddle as
follows:
3 parrots, 3 times a day, when put in cage, all 3 becomes red.
What is it?
The answer is betel leaves, lime and betel nuts that once put in
mouth and chewed. all of them becomes red.
And, the red coloured saliva that forms when chewing betel quids
is anything but a pretty sight.
Papua New Guinea recently introduced a ban on the
sale and chewing of betel nuts in the capital Port Moresby,
but that was mainly to rid the city of the unsightly red saliva users spit into
the street when they chew betel nuts.
One’s addiction of betel quids shows when they smile. Years of
chewing potent parcels of betel nuts and tobacco wrapped in a lime coated betel
leaf results in their teeth stained an unsightly reddish black.
Chewing betel quids is not only bad for one’s physical
personality, it also causes mouth cancer.
Betel leaves don’t cause cancer; in fact betel leaves are good for
you. They have medicinal properies and are traditionally used cure toothache,
speed the healing of boils and to help heal the umbilical cords of newborn
babies, hastening the process of dropping the bit of the cord. Chewing on betel
leaves also gets rid of bad breath and tooth decay causing bacteria.
The problem only starts when betel nuts, tobacco and lime are
added to the betel leaf. The combination is what high on carcinogens that
trigger cancer on the base of prolonged usage.
"Having one is okay, but the danger increases when you start
having the second one. When you reach a certain point, people will get
cancer," said Professor Ying-chin Ko, vice Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan
who conducted some of the first studies into the link between betel quid and
oral cancer.A betel quid is the name given to small parcels that typically
contain areca Hnuts, wrapped in a betel leaf c
However, some Asian Consumer Protection Associations that betel
leaves cause oral cancer due to pesticides on the leaves.
Researchers rubbish the claim, saying that scientific evidence has
shown that both betel nuts and leaves contain strong resistance to pests and
said that earlier researches show that pesticides have the proclivity to cause
lymph or blood cancer but never oral cancer.
Chewing betel quids
lead to an increased risk of cancer whether or not tobacco is included, a
scientific study showed.
The feel of chewing tobacco
is equivalent to the feel of taking drugs and it is perhaps the cheapest form
of drug which is legitimate.
Some people chew betel quids
to stay alert and active.
Despite overwhelming evidence on
how adversely betel quids affects health, a noodle seller in Myanmar has no intention
to drop the habit, saying that he needs up to 10 parcels of betel quids a day
in order to stay awake during long shifts at his market stall which starts at 3
a.m with a trip to the wholesaler and work until 8 p.m when he dumps his unsold
stock.
”I work all day and chewing betel
quids keeps me awake,”he smiles, his stained teeth being the testimony for his
betel quid chewing habit.
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