Health Risks associated with Chewing Paan or Betal leaf

This article tries to understand why chewing Betal leaf or Paan, as it is commonly known in India, is a serious threat to our health. Because of the usage of tobacco as one of its basic ingrediants, Paan is treated as a form of Smokeless tobacco by many.

About the Betal Leaf:

A Betel Leaf is a creeper with stimulant and medicinal properties. It has nice aroma and has a spicy,clove-like flavor. It is mostly found in India and Sri Lanka. In India, it is popularly known as Paan, an ancient breath freshener. It has been an integral part of indian culture from olden days.

Basic Ingredients in a Paan:

Betal leaf.
Areca nut.
Mineral lime.
Tobacco.

Health risks with chewing Betal leaf are:

According to The International Agency for Research and Cancer, chewing of Betal leaf with nut is a known Carcinogen.
Acute effects of chewing Betal leaf with nut can lead to cancer in multiple organs like the mouth, pharynx, esophagus and stomach.
Chewing Paan with tobacco increases the oral cancer risk by 9.9 and chewing it without tobacco increases the risk by 8.4 times.
It has the potential to affect the blood sugar level leading to Type II diabetes.
The teeth and gums get stained in orange or red colour because of chewing Betal leaf.
The tobacco-betel-lime quid chewing causes excessive secretion of saliva leading to salivary gland cancer.
It is also the culprit behind asthma, hypertension, and tachycardia in the paan users.
Long-term Chewing of Paan causes diseases like oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), pre-cancerous oral lesions and squamous cell carcinoma.

Health Risks associated with Chewing Paan or Betal leaf

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