Recently, market supervision departments in many places across the country have issued notices requiring merchants to remove betel nut and betel nut products on sale. According to incomplete statistics, at least 7 places across the country have clearly required it to be removed from the shelves.
In fact, before the ban on betel nuts was hyped by the media, betel nuts had been banned from being sold many times in China. Among them, Xiamen City promulgated the "Xiamen City Prohibiting the Production, Sales and Eating Betel nuts" as early as September 1996.
This new round of "betel nut ban" in various places seems to be related to the 36-year-old singer Fu Song 's death due to oral cancer not long ago. It is reported that the reason why Fu Song suffered from oral cancer was related to his six-year history of chewing betel nuts. He made a call on his social platform to "cherish life and stay away from betel nuts", which also became a hot search.
In other words, "betel nut may cause cancer" is the main reason why it is banned from selling.
So the question is, it may also cause cancer, and the user base is even larger, why isn’t it banned from selling cigarettes, but betel nuts, but instead?
betel nut is an tropical plant , which is mainly grown in Hainan, Yunnan, Fujian, Taiwan and other regions in my country.
The custom of eating betel nut has a history of thousands of years in my country, and can be traced back to Han Dynasty . In addition to eating, the medicinal value of betel nut has long been well known to ancient people. Betel nut has been recorded in "Compendium of Materia Medica" by Li Shizhen, saying that betel nut has the medicinal effects of "repellent insects, elimination of accumulation, qi and water". Now, the fruit that looks like olive is particularly popular among some male friends in Hunan, Hainan and Taiwan, and some ethnic minority women and children also have the habit of eating betel nut. With the development of the betel nut industry, more and more people are chewing betel nuts nowadays.
However, with the development of modern science and technology, especially the continuous progress of medical technology , there has been more and more evidence that betel nut will bring many harms to people's health.
As early as 2003, World Health Organization identified betel nut as a first-class carcinogen. In August 2021, because the areca nut contains isocyanine because it is hallucinogenic, Türkiye identified betel nut as a drug. Earlier, betel nut was also recognized as a drug in Singapore , the UAE, Canada and Australia.
The reason why betel nut causes oral cancer is simply that betel nut fibers are rough. Long-term chewing betel nut will damage the mucosa and teeth. In addition, the alkaloids it contains can directly kill cells, causing oral damage. Long-term chewing betel nut will cause a "double blow" to the oral mucosa, which will induce cancer.
According to data provided by relevant institutions, there are currently 600 million people around the world who like to eat betel nut, of which about 60 million people in my country. Among these 60 million people, there is no accurate data on how many people suffer from oral cancer due to long-term consumption of betel nuts.
But no, another fact that cannot be ignored is.
Currently, among the people aged 15 and above, there are about 1.337 billion tobacco users, of which about 350 million smokers in my country and 740 million passive smokers. Of these 350 million people, the number of deaths from smoking each year reached 1 million in 2010, and according to this trend, it may reach 2 million per year by 2030.
In this way, cigarettes are obviously more harmful than betel nuts. Cigarettes are not banned, but betel nuts are banned, so many people are very puzzled.
There is a view that the scale of cigarettes is too large and the contribution rate of taxes is too high. The annual tax revenue is more than 1 trillion yuan, and it cannot be banned even if you want to. The statement
seems to make some sense, but it is not.
Cigarettes are a product recognized by the world as serious harm to human health. There are strict restrictions in countries around the world. In my country, although tobacco industry creates huge taxes every year, the country's supervision is becoming increasingly strict.The state has specially issued the " Tobacco Monopoly Law ", which has strict regulations from the beginning of tobacco planting and processing. Secondly, many bans have been issued on the sales and use of cigarettes, such as not being able to advertise, not being able to smoke in public places, not being able to trade privately, etc.
In other words, because tobacco is very harmful, the state's supervision of the entire industry has been very perfect, and the tobacco industry has also become the most special industry in the national economy.
But on the contrary, betel nut, which is a serious harm to personal health, has been in a state of wild growth.
For a long time, betel nut and related industries have not only not had special legislation, nor any supervision. Even all regions once managed betel nut as food, and the relevant betel nut production companies received food production license .
It was not until 2017 that my country listed betel nut as a first-class carcinogen. In 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation deleted betel nut from the "Category of Food Production License". Starting from 2021, the Hunan Provincial Market Supervision Department will no longer apply for food production license extensions for all betel nut enterprises in the province. On September 17, 2021, the General Office of the State Administration of Radio, Television issued a notice requiring that the use of radio, television and online audio-visual programs will be stopped from now on.
It can be said that compared with some other countries and regions in the world that have long taken various restrictions on betel nuts, our country's corresponding control over betel nuts is relatively late.
So it is urgent to actively promote the orderly development of the betel nut industry now, and the focus is on "management" rather than "ban".
Because betel nut is the same as tobacco, liquor and other products, although it has different degrees of harm to human health, it cannot be completely banned.
The principle is "two evils are the least of the right one".
Another example: betel nut, tobacco, liquor and drugs are addictive. Why do countries around the world completely ban drugs and not tobacco?
The reason is that drug use will destroy the productivity of society. From a personal perspective, people are useless if they can't do their jobs. Not only will they take risks to commit crimes, but they will lead to a series of serious social problems.
Although betel nut, tobacco and alcohol are also harmful, their degrees are different. Its more harm is mainly to individuals, and will not destroy the productivity of the entire society, nor will it destroy the social order. Moreover, it is very difficult to completely ban these commodities, not to mention that economic factors are also one of the issues that must be considered. What should I do if tens of millions of employed people? It is not only unrealistic, but also impossible to implement a one-size-fits-all ban.
There are many things that cause cancer, and barbecue is also cancerous. Can barbecue be banned?
So I think that the so-called "betel nut ban" issued by various places is actually a signal for the future standardized development of the industry. The final result of
should be included in a management framework similar to tobacco and liquor, and monitor it in all aspects from the cultivation, processing, sales and marketing of betel nuts. In addition, a special production license and sales license system will be implemented, and it may also imitate tobacco to impose high taxes and subsidize medical insurance.
has been verified by the media that the "betel nut ban" in some cities is not actually a "ban on betel nut sales", but cannot be sold as food.
According to First Financial , regarding the "Zhejiang Yiwu requires merchants to remove betel nuts", the relevant person from the Food Supervision Section of the Yiwu Municipal Market Supervision Administration replied: "We have not received any statement that betel nuts will be removed from the shelves in the city. Instead, betel nuts should be sold as 'betel nut products' and must not be sold according to food. And it must be sold in different regions. betel nuts cannot be mixed with food."
It can be seen that the ban on betel nuts is not just because it is a first-class carcinogen, but because it is not a food at present. Because the country has long deleted it from the food catalog, any advertising or other promotional activities that treat betel nut as food will lose its legitimacy, which is also the main reason for the intervention of local market supervision departments.
What do you think about the "betel nut ban" issued by various places? Do you think it should leave a glimmer of life for betel nuts, or should it be completely banned?
(The pictures in this article are from the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact the editor to delete it)
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