Betel Nuts, Health Policies, and Adolescent Health

Abstract

Areca nut and betel quid (AN/BQ) products are largely scrutinized by the scientific community because of their toxicological and carcinogenic properties. However, at the same time there exists an ever-growing user base in low- and medium-income countries, whose users are responding to innovative products preparation processes and are initiated to AN/BQ products by their parents and family at a young age. This report compiles current cessation policies, implemented interventions, and comments on their corresponding effectiveness and/or potential effectiveness. The report also highlights the need for further research from both an adolescent health and a Chinese perspective, as data regarding the region with the second largest user group after India are largely unknown or unavailable for scientific review. Ultimately, recent studies involving analytical methods to observe how different cultivation environments, and/or processing methods change the chemical composition of the AN/BQ product have also presented a potential insight in better understanding and eventually regulating AN/BQ across all population groups, including adolescents. The rise of digital solutions may also encourage development of applications to track consumption and usage and distribution of AN/BQ products for policy makers to design targeted campaigns.