The buai story: A problem beyond traditional boundaries
02 August 2016
PETER S. KINJAP
IN Papua New Guinea today, it is normal to offer and accept betel nut (buai) without question.
Buai is often the first thing given to visitors to your home, friends you meet or at large gatherings like funeral feasts or weddings ceremonies.
It was previously only sold in the areas where it grows, but it has become a commodity and has found its way into almost all parts of Papua New Guinea.
There are no formal statistics on the number of betel nut chewers in PNG but we can safely say that two-thirds of the population chew it regularly, from children as young as eight to the elderly.
The betel nut trade is no longer a coastal phenomenon; it has become a major money earner for grassroots Papua New Guineans in the informal sector.
Highlanders now trade and chew betel nut. Every day along the Highlands Highway truckloads of buai make their way from the coastal buying areas of Lae and Madang into the mountains.
Highlanders have been known to hire boats and planes for betel nut buying trips to Popondetta, Wewak, Vanimo, Rabaul, Kimbe and Kavieng.
The commercial value of buai is determined by ‘ready ripe nuts’ – not too soft, not too strong.
A 10kg rice bag full of ready ripe nuts commonly referred to as ‘meat buai’ will cost K100. The cost of a single nut ranges from 20-50 toea. At times when supply is low, this can go up to K1 or K1.50 for a nut.
Transportation and handling costs also increase prices. At Porgera in Enga Province, for example, three nuts will cost K5. When supply is low this can go up to K10.
Medical studies show that chewing betel nut causes mouth cancer.
And a study done at the Sir Buri Kidu Heath Institute has shown that betel nut chewing can cause heart attacks in some individuals.
A similar study showed that betel nut chewing reduces the blood supply to the heart which may precipitate irregular heartbeat which can cause a sudden spasm in the heart blood vessels leading to a heart attack.
Betel nut chewing also increases the heart rate which can exacerbate this process.
Betel nut chewing can also precipitate an acute attack of asthma in people prone to this disease. This is due to the action of betel nut on the smooth muscle of the windpipe, probably by the same mechanism which causes the blood vessels of the heart to go into sudden spasm. Studies on this were also conducted in Papua New Guinea.
The active chemical in buai is Arecoline, a chemical similar in structure to a naturally occurring chemical in the body called Acetylcholine. Acetylcholine has many functions but, importantly for buai users, one of the main areas of the body on which it acts is on smooth muscles.
The chemical reaction between betel nut, daka and lime causes an increase in pH in the mouths of chewers. This change in pH increases the rate at which Arecoline is absorbed from the mouth straight into the blood stream thus the effects can be immediate (and sometimes fatal).
It was rumoured a few years back that lime producers were mixing fibro (asbestos) with coral to produce lime. Was this true? We may never know because no one bothered to sample the lime from markets and test it for the presence of asbestos. Asbestos is a well-established carcinogen, that is, it can directly cause cancer by damaging DNA.
To the Westerner’s eyes, betel nut chewing is a dirty habit as it involves expectorating red spittle everywhere. But the notice on the wall – Reminder, betel nut chewing is strictly prohibited – isn’t really ordering you to stop chewing altogether; it is telling you chew your buai elsewhere.
In schools, teachers stop students from chewing buai. In hospitals, doctors and nurses advise buai is not good for health. In some churches, chewing buai is sin. In some professional code of ethics such as that of the PNG Defence Force, chewing buai is prohibited.
For generations the betel nut was part of our traditional way of life, but now its commercialisation has seen it go beyond traditional boundaries.
In general Papua New Guineans seem little concerned about the health risks or the filth and littering.
National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop imposed a ban on betel nut in Port Moresby. It was meant to trigger a change in attitude towards chewing. But the attitudes of chewers remains a problem – there has been minimal change from 2012 so far.
The spitting of red stains, the throwing of husks and the overall hygiene of the betel nut chewing in the public places is still a problem and a challenge for authorities.
One kooky idea deserves another, KJ.
Interesting to note that there are many things we imbibe, ingest or merely gargle that can do us in, slowly but surely.
Don't swim in the sea because you might drown by accident. Yeah, that solves everything.
There should be a generally applicable disclaimer that says 'Warning: the major cause of death world wide is stupid people'.
Posted by: Michael Dom | 03 August 2016 at 03:47 PM
Que, Michael, said saying in a nutshell, whatever swill be ill be?
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 03 August 2016 at 02:14 PM
Betel nut is a drug, as such there must be laws to control its consumption just like there are laws to control alcohol and cigarette consumption.
You can chew all you like in your own private areas (and maybe in allocated places), but not just anywhere and anytime in public (as dogs often do when they need to take a leak).
The public should be free of betel nut chewers just like we don’t want to see drunks and drug addicts all over the streets.
Posted by: Marcus Mapen | 03 August 2016 at 02:12 PM
Attitude and health risks aside, people have found a very easy way (call it lazy, but what other options do they have?) to put food on the table.
As long as we do not come up with innovative and creative ways to address poverty, unemployment and underemployment; and development is skewed towards an urban bias, with the DSIP & PSIP not making noticeable differences in the province and electorates, those who are in the buai trade will continue.
No law will stop them. Government policies they don’t know. Well there are too many good ones decorating the shelves of government offices in Waigani. And the laws including the one banning betel nut – well who gives a farting care?
People will continue to arrive in Port Moresby by plane loads, and in Lae and Madang by truckloads to buy and sell buai if there are no alternatives for them.
Are they not citizens too? Whose fault is it that they have to cross rives and climb mountains, and brave crocodiles and deadly snakes to make it to towns or cities to make meaning of their lives?
Is it sad now that we are talking now, amidst a lot of fanfare?
Something is really wrong here friends. And it is deeper than meets the eyes!
Posted by: John K Kamasua | 03 August 2016 at 01:24 PM
What our good doctors have not told us is that fluoride in toothpaste leads to reduced brain function in toddlers and acute toxicity from accidentally swallowing excess toothpaste.
"The symptoms of acute fluoride toxicity mimic other, common ailments (e.g., upset stomach, nausea, flu), there are undoubtedly countless incidents of fluoride poisoning that routinely go undiagnosed."
Probably better to brush your teeth with natural soap and water and use straight scotch as a mouthwash.
__________
Note for the credulous - Gotta be a bit careful here. Michael's quote is from a bunch of American anti-fluoride kooks decontextualising a Federal Drug Agency warning label. Here is a defining quote from the American Dental Association: "The warning label simply reflects the fact that toothpaste contains roughly 1,000 times as much fluoride per milligram as fluoridated water. Even so, the American Dental Association believes the warning label on toothpaste exaggerates the potential for negative health effects from swallowing toothpaste. The ADA has stated that ―a child could not absorb enough fluoride from toothpaste to cause a serious problem and noted that fluoride toothpaste has an excellent safety record." - KJ
http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/utilities/h2ohelp/documents/ilikemyteeth%20-%20myths%20and%20facts.pdf
Posted by: Michael Dom | 03 August 2016 at 12:49 PM
Betel nut also slows down the brain functions and is a contributing factor to attitude problems. People are unable to reason and moral values go out the door.
The brain needs to be free for higher functions to take place in order to create an advance society. It's no wonder PNG has hardly advanced much in the last 30 years.
Its only the population that have done away with tribalism and betel but chewing who are in the frontline struggling to make a change for the better.
Some just leave for greener pastures overseas when the burden is overwhelming.
Posted by: Arthut Minimbi | 03 August 2016 at 11:21 AM
Michael Dom, really love your postings. You really hit the nail squarely upon its head.
"Enough white-men have had hard attacks with that kind of thing." Did you mean "heart attacks" or "hard attacks" - both could be applicable.
"I suggest more laplap, like scarves or just use rope." Ha! Ha! Perhaps bilum string here and there could do the trick.
Keep your postings coming. Your postings keep me reading PNG Attitude. The resident philosophers Paul Oates and Phil Fitzpatrick are sometimes a cracked cracked cracked cracked record.
Michael Dom for PM!
Posted by: William Robinson | 03 August 2016 at 10:13 AM
The equivalent of PNG buai is the North African 'khat' chewing or drinking in the European beer halls or wine bars. The coffee, tea and chocolate cafes could be added to that and possibly even the habit forming other substances that go without saying, e.g. smoking tobacco etc.
Is it the habit or the effects that make it so popular? Is it the cultural aspect that makes it so popular or is a combination of being sociable and doing what everyone else does so as not to be left out? Is the new craze of finding Pokemon really all that bad unless people start walking into life threatening situations because they can't lift their heads up from their hand held phones to see where they are going?
If the effects of consuming a substance only affects the consumer and doesn't do any harm to anyone else, should it therefore be illegal? Second hand smoke and stealing to get the money to buy what you need then starts to sound familiar just as the mess created from chewing betel nut is in most people's eyes simply gross.
The problem is that if a substance or habit is or becomes desirable, as Michael points out, it then becomes taxable.
If it can't be taxed, then it's probably fattening or bad for your health e.g. sugar, fat and salt.
It's beginning to sound like a lament of: 'Why is everything I like either immoral, illegal or fattening?'
Humankind must have something to do when there is nothing else to do or the opportunity to do nothing presents itself. Being the natural communicator a human is, they will tend to do something sociable even though they know it might be dangerous.
After all, we are simply all children with just some having more experience. 'Go on try it. See if you dare?'
Posted by: Paul Oates | 03 August 2016 at 09:24 AM
Are you channelling Agent Orange (aka The Trump), Michael? Whatever, it's good to have a reason to smile, for a change ....
Posted by: Ed Brumby | 03 August 2016 at 07:12 AM
A dare to anyone who still thinks that Papua New Guineans living in the urban squalor of Port Moresby should 'go home to their villages and work the land': go stand in the middle of a suburban market place, say Sabama or Tokarara and say this to the vendors.
Or make this your new election slogan: "No more buai, work your land or get a real job".
I don't give you long to survive, physically or politically.
Posted by: Michael Dom | 03 August 2016 at 01:43 AM
We should probably all quit smoking and send British American Tobacco smoking - sorry no golf today lads.
(i.e. send British American Tobacco packing.....)
Beer definitely has to go because that European custom has no place in PNG or anywhere in the world for that matter. The Kumuls can find some other sponsor. Maybe RH Trading.
And get those Milne Bay girls to wear something else to the sing-sing for goodness sake, it's hard enough for tourist's to not look at their nipples. Enough white-men have had hard attacks with that kind of thing. I suggest more laplap, like scarves or just use rope.
Ban littering along with loitering, so there's no more hanging around the street corners late in the afternoon. That's also bad for political reasons. Everyone should stay home and come out only for healthy exercise and Christian gatherings.
Certainly prostitution will need to be legalised because the government needs at least one member of the family to pay taxes.
With free education all children should be educated up to grade 10 and 12, so we'll have a good supply of young, smart prostitutes very soon. Just what we need to increase exports.
All unemployed men should all be drafted to the defense force where they can serve the important functions of border security to protect West Papuan's crossing over; provide security at logging camps; and work on road and bridge projects.
Sounds good to me.
Make it so.
Posted by: Michael Dom | 03 August 2016 at 01:24 AM
It also stains everything that people chewing it touch. I would like to know what gets rid of the stain from furniture, curtains etc as nothing I have tried works.
There is a roaring trade in betel nut coming into Australia.A permit is required and certain quarantine procedures have to be followed.
If i am meeting someone at the airport who is carrying betel nut and daka they are usually among the last to come through customs.
________
Husat igat bekim blo askim long rausim sit blo buia? - KJ
Posted by: Geoff Hancock | 02 August 2016 at 04:40 PM
Apart from it being a filthy habit and health risk, betel nut chewing makes people lazy. I've observed that betel nut chewers tend to sit around and want to tell stories more often than people who don't.
Also the business of buying and selling betel nut is a lazy man's job - no sweat involved.
Betel nut has no real economic value in society. It is not a food source and it can not be used for anything else. It is a drug just like alcohol (and other drugs) and should be regulated as such. Parliament should pass legislation to this effect.
We must forget this bullshit about betel nut being a cultural or social thing. Some cultural things (such as cannibalism) are not practiced anymore and betel nut chewing should be one of them.
Posted by: Marcus Mapen | 02 August 2016 at 09:49 AM
It's also a great way to spread TB Peter. There are no statistics but the spread of TB, especially the drug resistant version, is thought to correlate with the spread of betel nut.
When people spit betel nut juice everywhere it is more than just a red stain.
The occasional outbreaks of cholera are also linked to betel nut.
Posted by: Philip Fitzpatrick | 02 August 2016 at 08:34 AM