Roger L Papke1, Indraneel Bhattacharyya2, Dorothy K Hatsukami3, Ingyin Moe4, Sam Glatman4. 1. Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA. 2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diagnostic Sciences, University of Florida, College of Dentistry, Gainesville, Florida, USA. 3. Department of Psychiatry and the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. 4. Ko Shwe Ventures Pte. Ltd, Yangon, Myanmar.
Abstract
Background: Betel nut (areca) is the world's fourth most commonly used addictive substance. Arecoline, a muscarinic agonist in areca, is also a partial agonist for the addiction-related high-affinity brain nicotine receptors. In many countries, smokeless tobacco is commonly mixed with areca. Objective: We sought to evaluate the knowledge of self-harm, and addiction associated betel quid use in an unban population. Methods: We conducted a survey study of 200 betel quid users in Yangon, Myanmar, and a survey of betel quid vendors to determine the relative amounts of areca and tobacco in the available quids. Results: The data determined that a large majority of the survey subjects (84%) used tobacco with their areca. Users had a general awareness that betel chewing was "a bad habit" (85%) and 80% were aware of the cancer risks. Understanding areca addiction remains a challenge since, aside from the strong muscarinic activity of arecoline stimulating salivation, overt neurologic effects are difficult for even the users to identify. Fifty eight percent of the respondents indicated that chewing betel quid had effects like drinking coffee, and 55.5% indicated that it had effects like drinking alcohol. Data obtained from the quid vendors indicated that 75% added tobacco in equal amounts to areca. Conclusion: The concomitant use of nicotine and areca indicates that betel quid addiction includes a significant component of nicotine dependence. However, the additional activities of areca, including the muscarinic effects of arecoline, indicate that potential cessation therapies should optimally address other factors as well.
Background: Betelnut (areca) is the world's fourth most commonly used addictive substance. Arecoline, a muscarinic agonist in areca, is also a partial agonist for the addiction-related high-affinity brain nicotine receptors. In many countries, smokeless tobacco is commonly mixed with areca. Objective: We sought to evaluate the knowledge of self-harm, and addiction associated betel quid use in an unban population. Methods: We conducted a survey study of 200 betel quid users in Yangon, Myanmar, and a survey of betel quid vendors to determine the relative amounts of areca and tobacco in the available quids. Results: The data determined that a large majority of the survey subjects (84%) used tobacco with their areca. Users had a general awareness that betel chewing was "a bad habit" (85%) and 80% were aware of the cancer risks. Understanding areca addiction remains a challenge since, aside from the strong muscarinic activity of arecoline stimulating salivation, overt neurologic effects are difficult for even the users to identify. Fifty eight percent of the respondents indicated that chewing betel quid had effects like drinking coffee, and 55.5% indicated that it had effects like drinking alcohol. Data obtained from the quid vendors indicated that 75% added tobacco in equal amounts to areca. Conclusion: The concomitant use of nicotine and areca indicates that betel quid addiction includes a significant component of nicotine dependence. However, the additional activities of areca, including the muscarinic effects of arecoline, indicate that potential cessation therapies should optimally address other factors as well.
Entities:
Keywords:
Areca; addiction; cancer; cessation therapy; drug dependence; tobacco
Authors: Chien-Hung Lee; Albert Min-Shan Ko; Frances M Yang; Chung-Chieh Hung; Saman Warnakulasuriya; Salah Osman Ibrahim; Rosnah Binti Zain; Ying-Chin Ko Journal: JAMA Psychiatry Date: 2018-03-01 Impact factor: 21.596
Authors: Clare Stokes; Jose A Pino; D Walker Hagan; Gonzalo E Torres; Edward A Phelps; Nicole A Horenstein; Roger L Papke Journal: Addict Biol Date: 2022-09 Impact factor: 4.093
Authors: Chandrashekhar T Sreeramareddy; Saint Nway Aye; Sunil Pazhayanur Venkateswaran Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2021-02-03 Impact factor: 3.295