Action is required to reduce kava supply in Arnhem Land … again!

Non‐infectious skin disease in Indigenous Australians

“…Concerns, however, have been raised that Australian Indigenous people in some communities consume vastly higher quantities of kava than would traditionally be consumed by Pacific Islanders . Kava consumption has been found to have a range of side effects, most commonly lethargy, lymphocytopaenia, hepatic dysfunction and kava dermopathy, which is a reversible, ichthyosiform eruption (Table ) …”

The health and social effects of drinking water-based infusions of kava: A review of the evidence

“…Although many of the side effects of even heavy and long‐term kava use appear to be reversible once the consumption of kava is reduced or stopped, concerns among health professionals have been that the previously reported high levels of consumption in some Aboriginal communities would not be reduced without government‐imposed restrictions to the supply of kava [10]. Since the introduction of the 2007 ban on kava imports, different perspectives on its potential impact have been reported in the Australian media; that is from previous wholesalers anticipating unintended effects [56,57], communities who believe their traditional uses of kava have been unfairly restricted [58] and health professionals supporting the ban [59,60].…”

“…The 1998 Northern Territory Kava Management Act (the Act) was passed to control the local supply of kava. In May 2002 four local retailers, and one wholesaler were approved under the Act to sell kava within ‘Kava License Areas’[5,10]. Two more licenses were approved in 2005, but by 2006 there were growing concerns about the effectiveness of the regulations in controlling community supplies of kava [10].…”

“…In May 2002 four local retailers, and one wholesaler were approved under the Act to sell kava within ‘Kava License Areas’[5,10]. Two more licenses were approved in 2005, but by 2006 there were growing concerns about the effectiveness of the regulations in controlling community supplies of kava [10]. In June 2007, the Australian Government banned all commercial importation of kava into Australia ‘to combat kava abuse and significant associated health problems in Indigenous communities’[11].…”