Speaking of betel nut, it may be unfamiliar to northerners.
But in Hainan, Yunnan and Taiwan, betel nut has become a favorite snack of many locals.
People who like to chew betel nut find it a pungent flavor, a unique taste, and a bit of a head to eat.
Even our great scholar Su Shi, because he ate betel nut, left a good sentence of "dark musk with people with jasmine, red tide on the cheeks drunk with betel nut".
But did you know that because of this small snack, it not only brings tens of billions of economic pillars of sales every year, but also triggers hundreds of thousands of cancer patients who have their tongues cut off, stolen gums, and even lost their lives.
Betel nut, however, is the only fruit that is carcinogenic
According to statistics, about 60 million Chinese people are addicted to betel nut, but in the past ten years, scientists have discovered that betel nut is a clear human carcinogen.
As early as 2003, the International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization has listed betel nut as a Class 1 carcinogen, which is the same level as tobacco.
According to statistics, there are 390,000 oral cancer patients in the world every year, of which 58% of patients have the habit of chewing betel nut.
Why does betel nut cause cancer?
The reason why betel nut is classified as a first-class carcinogen is mainly because the betel nut species contains a large amount of betel nut alkali and betel nut sub-base.
This ingredient will not only make people addicted to betel nut, but also produce nitrosamines after oral chewing, which is a recognized carcinogenic compound, once in contact with the oral mucosa, it is easy to produce oral mucosal fibrosis, resulting in oral cancer.
According to relevant statistics, those countries and regions where betel nut chewing is endemic, the incidence of oral cancer is very high, such as India, they are the world's largest betel nut consumption country, at the same time, the prevalence of oral cancer in this country is also the world's first.
At the same time, betel nut not only has the potential to cause oral cancer, but also has a very close relationship with pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer and esophageal cancer.
I know that it is strongly carcinogenic, but now this snack is still not eliminated
Due to the data in recent years, many relevant departments have begun to realize the harm of betel nut.
In 2019, the National Health Commission adopted the "Healthy Oral Action Plan (2019-2025)", which requires areas with betel nut chewing habits to strengthen publicity on the harm of long-term chewing of betel nut to oral health.
In the same year, the Hunan Betel Nut Food Industry Association also stopped corporate advertising.
It seems that all kinds of behaviors undoubtedly reveal that the harm of betel nut has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, thinking that betel nut will gradually withdraw from the stage of human history.
But in recent years, various signs show that betel nut has not disappeared in human life, but with the marketing and promotion in recent years, whether it is an online e-commerce platform or an offline roadside convenience store, betel nut can be bought everywhere.
At the same time, the sales of betel nuts are also gradually rising, with an average annual growth rate of between 20% and 30%, and the output value is huge.
Why is betel nut so hard to quit?
In fact, the threshold for buying betel nuts is not only extremely low, but even some individual places have a strong betel nut exchange culture.
Just like Hunan, the betel nut sales point is almost like the pleasant color of Hunan tea, as long as you can buy mineral water, you can find betel nut for sale.
Just like Hainan and other places, betel nut has also become a cultural ceremony, and gifts are inseparable from betel nut gifts every New Year's Festival.
After tobacco, alcohol and caffeine, betel nut has also become the world's fourth most widely used addictive substance, betel nut important ingredient ---- alkaloids, into the human body regret the appearance of red ears, body fever, slight sweating and other phenomena.
This kind of "refreshing" is "much more powerful" than coffee, and because of this stimulation, betel nut is also eaten by humans one after another.
Neuromolecular imaging studies have found that betel nut not only makes the neurobiological base dependent, but also triggers dysfunction of the emotional, cognitive, and reward systems in the brain.
If you stop chewing betel nut, the eater will soon experience general fatigue, inability to concentrate, sometimes blank memory, anxiety, depression and other negative emotions.
Once the addiction is difficult to control, it will be uncomfortable not to chew.
For long-term betel nut eaters, if they continue to use tobacco and alcohol, the incidence of oral cancer is 123 times that of normal people.
The reality is that there are no ifs, there are betel nuts that are being harvested like crazy
In the face of betel nut, on the one hand, there is clear carcinogenicity and high-intensity dependence, and on the other hand, it is overwhelming betel nut marketing.
They sponsor variety shows that young people love:
Implanting web dramas that young people love to chase:
Even invite celebrities to pay lip service.
As marketing expanded, those teenagers began to stir, and some even began to eat.
Those betel nut merchants have also sold cancer to you, and if you continue, you will be waiting for a patient who has his tongue cut off, cut off his gums, and struggled to survive.
We implore the authorities to be able to require merchants to comply with the advertising ban and clearly mark their surveillance sub-lines,
If you, me, and we continue to allow betel nut ads to confuse the public and flaunt them in the name of health.
Well, such tragedies may be played over and over again.