On August 12, 2021, the Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul issued a document saying that a number of Chinese citizens were arrested for carrying betel nut when entering Turkey, because betel nut contained in betel nut is hallucinogenic under Turkish law and is considered a drug.
In Turkey, betel nut is classified as a "drug" and foreign tourists are prohibited from bringing it into Turkey or the carrier will be arrested. In addition to Turkey, many foreign countries have strictly controlled the production and marketing of betel nut, such as the United States Department of Agriculture has long forced the import of betel nut, and explicitly banned the cross-state sale of betel nut; in Australia, betel nut is listed as a fourth-level drug, prescription notes, and prohibits the transportation of betel nut into Australia.
Images are from the web
Statistics show that in 2020, the output value of the whole industrial chain of the mainland betel nut industry has exceeded 70 billion yuan, and the betel nut industry is moving towards a market of 100 billion yuan, and gradually spread from the original southern markets such as Hunan and Guangdong to Henan, Shaanxi, Hebei, Beijing and other northern regions.
So, what kind of substance is betel nut? Is it addictive and harmful? With such a huge market, why are local governments not regulating it? This article will restore the truth of betel nut from five aspects, such as addiction, carcinogenicity, and folklore.
01. Addictive
There is no doubt that betel nut is addictive. The main active ingredient of betel nut addiction is the alkaloid represented by betel nut and sub-betel nut, which can stimulate endogenous adrenal hormone secretion, and the secretion of a large number of adrenocortical hormones will lead to neuroexcitability, so that chewers have a refreshing and stimulating experience.
However, long-term chewing can produce tolerance (and increasing insensitivity) with significant addiction, dependence, and withdrawal effects. Surveys have shown that nearly 70% of people who consume betel nut are addicted, and once they stop chewing betel nut, they will have symptoms of withdrawal such as discomfort, depression, and tiredness.
Images are from the web
To avoid these negative feelings, betel nut addicts can only chew more and more betel nut, which in turn increases tolerance and dependence. At the same time, it also causes problems with teeth and mouth, causing great harm to personal health.
Neuroscience studies have shown that patients with betel nut dependence have multiple changes in brain structures in reward, cognitive, and emotional circuits, and these changes in brain microstructure may be the neurobiological basis of betel nut dependence.
02. Dental problems
Chewing betel nut has damage to the tooth body, periodontal tissue, temporomandibular joint, etc., especially the wear and tear and lesion of the tooth body. Because the betel nut is relatively hard, long-term chewing will cause the tip and socket on the surface of the tooth to be smoothed out, and for a long time, the tooth will fall out and only the root of the tooth will be left. The gums lose the protection of the teeth and become very fragile and sensitive, and a little stimulation will be extremely painful, and the chewer will not be able to open their mouths to speak, which will seriously affect their lives.
Betel nut in the process of processing, but also add quicklime and other alkaline components, these corrosion of the teeth is very serious, "black teeth" is one of the signs of most betel nut chewers. In addition, the alkaline effect of betel nut itself can also lead to caries, periodontitis and other lesions, resulting in tooth loss, which not only affects the appearance, but also causes great trouble to daily life.
03. Oral cancer
In the medical community, there is a saying of "10 oral cancers, 9 chewing betel nuts". Betel nut contains a variety of alkaloids, including betel nut, betel nut, tetrahydronicotinate and methyl tetrahydronicotinate, all of which produce nitrosamine compounds (important carcinogens) during chewing, so betel nut is identified as a Class 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer IARC.
Studies have shown that 66% of betel nut chewers suffer from oral mucosal lesions, of which oral submucosal fibrous lesions account for 7%, leukoplakia accounts for 3.9%, lichen planus accounts for 5.2%, and ordinary people have oral mucosal lesions of only 1.5%. Submucosal fibrosis is a potentially malignant lesion, commonly known as "precancerous lesion", and some patients may evolve into oral cancer, which is life-threatening. Chewing betel nut can also damage the esophagus and stomach, increasing the incidence of esophageal and stomach cancer.
Images are from the web
Once betel nut chewers develop oral cancer, their prognosis is poor, with a 5-year survival rate of about 50%. Even if there is a chance of surgery, the overall medical burden is also very heavy, a patient with advanced oral cancer, if you want to receive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, conservative estimates need more than 200,000, but even if the operation is successful, about 1/3 will still recur, and the patient's postoperative swallowing, language function and facial appearance will be seriously affected.
Since betel nut is highly carcinogenic, why do people chew on this substance recklessly? Folklore is an important factor.
04. Folklore
In some parts of the mainland, chewing betel nut has traditionally been a traditional folk practice. For example, in the Xiangtan area, people will treat guests with betel nuts, and the folk proverb says that "the more betel nut is chewed, the more vigorous it is, the more it comes out, the more it comes out, the friends make friends and fight Luantai (peace), and the plague is appetizing and relieving the oily." When people meet relatives and friends on the street, they will invite each other to the betel nut stall and pay homage to each other; or carry a bag with them, and relatives and friends will meet and respect each other; when guests enter the door and sit down, the host will respect each other with betel nut, and there is a folk proverb that "raises a wife and a cub, chai rice oil and salt; pick up guests, betel nut first".
It can be seen that betel nuts have social properties like cigarettes. This habitual social behavior can cause chewers to ignore the dangers of betel nut. In addition, the atmosphere of "I'm chewing", "you're chewing" and "he's chewing" will also give people the illusion that what everyone is eating is safe.
In recent years, the saying of "betel nut refreshing" is quite popular among drivers, especially long-distance drivers and taxi drivers, who will chew a lot of betel nut in order to alleviate driving fatigue, and this industry habit has gradually spread from the original Hunan drivers to all parts of the country, becoming an industry feature, but also accelerating the wide spread of betel nut.
05. High profitability
Why is betel nut, which is listed as a drug and carcinogen abroad, becoming more and more prosperous in China? The most important point is that in order to ensure fiscal taxation and economic benefits, some local governments regard betel nut as a pillar industry, and even some places have changed a large number of farmland to betel nut to support, which has intensified the development of the betel nut industry.
In fact, betel nut, like tobacco, belongs to a high-profit industry, leading to the crazy growth of the entire industrial chain. The addictive nature of betel nut products has also brought a stable consumer base. From the perspective of supervision, because of the intricate interests involved, it is currently only in the stage of not allowing advertising, although on the packaging of some betel nut products, it warns that "eating betel nut excessively is harmful to health", but the location is hidden, the font is small, and only "excessive".
Images are from the web
If it is allowed to grow, it may not be more than three years, the overall industrial chain of betel nut will achieve the scale of 100 billion market, but along with the 100 billion market, it may be nearly one million oral cancer patients, which will cause great losses to public health resources and cause significant losses to mainland labor resources.
Therefore, from the perspective of supervision, strengthening the formulation of national standards for the production, processing and sales of betel nut plays an important role in regulating the development of the betel nut industry. In addition, it is also necessary to strengthen the publicity of the harmfulness of chewing betel nut, gradually guide and change people's bad lifestyle and the folk custom of using betel nut to treat guests and gifts, so that people can eat less or quit the habit of chewing betel nut, so as to reduce the occurrence of oral diseases and improve people's quality of life.
Creation is not easy, attention, forwarding, like, tip, are the best support!