60 million people's bomb! Betel nut is called "soft drugs", some people argue, some do not believe

One strange phenomenon in Canada is that while marijuana is legal, betel nut is not.

In our country, the opposite is true, and because of this, many people are lax in gauging betel nut and consider it the same commodity as cigarettes.

There are about 60 million people in China who chew betel nut, and this number is quietly increasing because betel nut has infiltrated every aspect of our lives like chewing gum.

Like a bomb buried in a crowd, it will explode one day.

What is betel nut?

Betel nut is a plant of the palm family, Betel nut. The following 36 species, widely distributed in the tropics, are also cultivated in subtropical areas after being introduced.

We often say betel nut is the fruit of the betel nut tree, about the size of a pigeon's egg. It is covered with a layer of flesh on the outside and has a core inside.

The flesh of the betel nut is much like the skin of a leaf and contains a heavy dose of cellulose. When dried, it is the dried betel nut sold in the market.

It contains substances such as betel nut alkaloids, which give off a special taste that irritates the nose and mouth, thus giving a refreshing sensation.

China has a long history of growing and eating betel nuts. According to history books, people in the Lingnan region had the habit of chewing betel nuts.

The betel nut was introduced to Xi'an for cultivation when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty fought in South Vietnam.

It is said that there is a lot of miasma in the area of Lingnan and eating betel nut can get rid of miasma, so there has been a local custom of betel nut chewing.

Just as people in the southwest eat chili peppers today, betel nut does have the effect of removing dampness and the smell of betel nut has the effect of repelling insects.

Although betel nut has been recorded for consumption and medicinal use in ancient times, it has been a regional custom and has not been promoted nationwide.

The reason is that betel nut was not produced in ancient times, and it was difficult to adapt to the strange smell of betel nut in other regions outside Lingnan, and the nobility at that time only treated it as an ornamental item.

Betel nut contains coarse fiber and it takes a lot of effort to chew it and then spit out the dregs.

Fresh betel nut is green in color, bitter in taste but high in water content. Many people prefer to chew fresh betel nuts to save energy.

Betel nut is reddish-brown when dried, chewy, and requires more teeth. People who chew betel nut for a long time have big cheeks, black teeth, and severe wear.

However, in the face of oral cancer, losing a tooth or two is relatively minor.

Dangers of betel nut

If you ask a person who chews betel nut for a long time to open his mouth, he can't open his mouth. His oral tissues are completely fibrotic and have lost their original elasticity.

This is because betel nut is very rough. In the process of chewing it, the epithelial cells of the mouth are always worn and replaced.

The number of divisions of most cells in the human body is limited, which is equivalent to overdrawing the epithelial cells of one's mouth in advance.

In addition, betel nut contains various alkaloids that are carcinogenic to oral cells and can induce carcinogenesis, leading to oral cancer.

Oral fibrosis is an irreversible process. Once it occurs, there is no room for redemption and the next step is oral cancer. In this case, only the part that has become fibrotic can be removed to prevent its spread.

Many people who chew betel nut end up losing their face.

Many people try to quit betel nut after realizing the changes in their bodies, only to find that they can't quit anyway and have become addicted.

The longer you chew betel nut, the higher your tolerance to betel nut will be. From day one to day two, it is hard not to eat.

Many of the alkaloids in betel nut are present in the drug, and even betel nut has a higher content of certain ingredients that lead to addictive effects more quickly.

It took less than 10 years of betel nut eating to get oral cancer.

India has the highest number of betel nut eaters, and the prevalence of oral cancer is more than 10 times higher than in other countries. In Sri Lanka and elsewhere, people there have red mouths and black teeth when they smile.

Interestingly, in Canada, people can legally smoke marijuana, but not betel nut. Betel nut sellers will face jail time.

In 2021, Turkey classified betel nut as a drug, and the Foreign Ministry warned Chinese tourists not to bring betel nut to Turkey.

Yet in China, where anti-drugs is the strictest, betel nut is sold in the most prominent place on the shelf. Many people are curious to buy it when they see it and become addicted.

How did betel nut conquer store after store in China and become a 'soft drug'?

Evil interests

As mentioned before, the taste of pure betel nut is very unpleasant and people, in general, cannot stand the harsh taste of betel nut. Therefore, since ancient times, the custom of eating betel nut has only been formed in the Lingnan region.

Now, from the south to the north, from the west to the east, you can see betel nut sellers when you walk into any small store.

The reason is that betel nut has become an industry in China with high profits. Various betel nut brands are taking root all over the country.

In the factory, fresh betel nut is boiled to remove the bitter component, then fried with various spices, then smoked and dried.

In this process, the spices suppress much of the betel nut's original flavor, and people can only feel the sensory impact of substances such as betel nut base.

To make more people understand betel nut, these companies advertise everywhere, invite celebrity endorsements, and posters are all over the place.

Many small store owners said they did not know about betel nut at first, and did not dare to enter betel nut easily for fear of not being able to sell it.

But these betel nut enterprises take the initiative to find them, give them free betel nut, and let them try to sell for some time, to ensure that the future sales are very good.

The store owner half-heartedly accepted and accepted the betel nut enterprises' request to place the goods in the most prominent position.

Unexpectedly, as the businessman said, more and more people came to the owner to buy betel nuts, and the owner eventually chose to purchase.

These betel nut enterprises also do some health gimmicks, such as betel nut with wolfberry, red date betel nut, etc.., and packaged betel nut as a product like chewing gum and functional drinks, mainly for anti-fatigue.

On the other hand, modern society is stressful. Some people buy betel nuts with a relaxed mindset. After eating it, they feel that the stress is released. It's refreshing, so they recommend it to their relatives and friends.

The betel nut companies thus complete an industry chain full of lies and hazards, and betel nut becomes a common commodity.

However, their good lies can't change the harmfulness of betel nut. People who are deeply involved in betel nut realize that they have been cheated, so they call on more people to stop patronizing betel nut!

The state also realized the harm of betel nut and abolished the category of "edible betel nut" in 2020. In the future, betel nut can only be considered a medicine, you need to go to a special pharmacy to buy it.

After that, several provinces required e-commerce platforms to remove multiple betel nut connections, and television networks could no longer broadcast betel nut advertisements.

No eradication

China started to consciously control betel nut in 2017 and has implemented several bans after 2021. However, betel nuts can still be found in small stores along the streets.

Why are betel nuts still being sold after the ban was enacted? The reason is that there are too many people eating betel nut in China!

Roughly speaking, there are more than 60 million people who chew betel nut deeply, not counting those who are not addicted to chewing betel nut at the beginning.

As long as they are still buying, the betel nut industry chain will not be broken. These betel nut companies have not stopped production at all and have passed the point where they need to make a lot of noise and publicity. Instead, because of these bans, many people who didn't know about betel nut at first went to try it.

The main reason why betel nut is still alive is that it has not been characterized. Many people simply do not realize the dangers of betel nut and are still defending it.

Many people confidently believe that if they control the amount they eat each day, they will not become addicted.

Many merchants think they pay for the goods and they can sell them.

Betel nut is considered a drug in other countries, but it is not properly classified in our country, so the betel nut industry is in a latent state in our country.

But it is like a bomb. If it is not uprooted, it will explode sooner or later.

A tougher crackdown is needed in the future to completely cut the road to betel nut and protect people's health.