BETEL NUT CHEWING ORIGINATED IN THE TROPICAL REGIONS OF SOUTHERN ASIA, BUT IT HAS GRADUALLY SPREAD TO COMMUNITIES IN MADAGASCAR, EASTERN AFRICA AND THE WEST INDIES.
BETEL NUT CHEWING ORIGINATED IN THE TROPICAL REGIONS OF SOUTHERN ASIA, BUT IT HAS GRADUALLY SPREAD TO COMMUNITIES IN MADAGASCAR, EASTERN AFRICA AND THE WEST INDIES. Quid, or chewable drug, made from betel nut typically contains a combination of betel palm nut, betel vine leaf, lime and tobacco. While this psychoactive product is most commonly used as a recreational drug, it may offer some medicinal or therapeutic properties. However, betel nut chewing has been linked to several serious side effects. STIMULANT The National Institutes of Health note betel nut’s long-standing reputation as a stimulant. Chewed betel nut produces a stimulant response that, in low doses, is similar to caffeine or nicotine. In high doses, betel nut produces cocaine-like effects including elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, dilated pupils, anxiety, insomnia and cardiac arrhythmia. EUPHORIC Betel nut owes its popularity as a recreational drug to its euphoric side-effects. Acco
