Cancer-causing betelnut and kava banned from construction site

Tuesday, 14 May 2019

Waikato-based researcher Dr Apo Aporosa talks to Radio Tarana's Sanjesh Narain about adulterated kava.

Betelnuts and kava have been banned from at least one major construction site.

The carcinogenic betelnut – which gives chewers a caffeine-like high and blood red saliva – is popular in parts of Asia and the Pacific. Kava is a non-alcoholic sedative and the national drink of Fiji.

There are no legal restrictions on the substances' consumption in New Zealand, though it is illegal to sell betelnuts as food. Betelnut chewing has been subject to bans in Papua New Guinea due to both its link with oral cancer and the mess spitting its residue makes in public places.

A Fletcher Building construction site has banned betelnuts and kava.

An illustrated sign at a Fletcher Building site in central Auckland stated those specific products were not allowed on site.

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'We don't allow any alcohol or drugs on any of our sites,' a spokeswoman for the company said.

Packets of powdered kava are sold in dairies around New Zealand.

She would not say why betelnuts and kava had been singled out on the sign.

Waikato University health research fellow Dr Apo Aporosa, a self-described kava connoisseur, was 'surprised' at the ban because he didn't believe betelnuts or kava were problematic substances in workplaces.

He said drinking kava was as much about ritual as soporific effect. Aporosa said the beverage was growing in popularity in New Zealand beyond Pacific communities.

His surprise at the ban on betelnuts was due to their limited availability.

'They're probably actually good for productivity; I've heard it feels like drinking a lot of Red Bull. But I've never heard of anyone getting hold of them in New Zealand,' he said.

WorkSafe confirmed it had never investigated incidents involving betelnuts or kava.

The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) said businesses caught selling betelnuts for human consumption could be penalised. But they could be sold here for 'other uses' and buyers do not have to prove their intent, a spokeswoman said.

'They have traditional significance in Southeast Asian cultures where they are sometimes used in marriage ceremonies,' she said.

A betelnut is not a nut per se, but a bundle of the areca nut, which is actually a berry, and lime paste wrapped in a betel leaf.

The World Health Organization has found betelnut is carcinogenic and its habitual chewing greatly increases the risk of developing mouth or throat cancer.

An online vape and hemp store based in New Plymouth sells the ingredients used to prepare betelnuts. Product descriptions state they're 'intended for research use or in prayer only'.

A customer review on MindFuel's website described a 'bad taste' and the user having stayed 'awake longer than I usually stay up' after chewing one.

It is legal to sell kava for consumption in New Zealand as a raw root or powder. It can be found in dairies around the country and at Pacific markets.

The MPI spokeswoman said sellers were required to label kava with warnings it caused drowsiness and should be used in moderation.

The Ministry of Health had 'no current concern' over either betelnut or kava consumption in New Zealand.

'Their psychoactive effects are comparatively mild, particularly when placed alongside the synthetic compounds that we see and are often so readily available,' a ministry spokesperson said.