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The hazardous nut
Waqar, a 16-year-old boy, was lying quietly in bed in one of the charitable hospitals of the city. He was an intermediate pre-medical student. Like every young boy, he also had many dreams in his mind but now they seemed impossible to materialise. There were times when one could see brightness and intelligence but now his eyes were gloomy and distant. He was in a terrible state; his mouth was locked so tightly due to muscle failure, because of betel nut chewing, that he could not even speak to his parents or friends. When-ever he wants to communicate, which is not very often, he does so by writing on the copy lying next to him on the hospital bed. He was sunk in fearful thoughts, the pain and agony and above all the fear of leaving his family, friends, school; of missing all his favourite shows and hobbies. Most of all his future plans lay wasted; he had not done anything in his life, though he had grand plans for what he wanted to be. It was a situation when his life was to end before it actually began.
“He once used to be so talkative that we often had to tell him to shut up, but now we wish he could speak again, said Waqar’s father with tearful eyes.
Waqar is yet another victim of the deadly mouth cancer disease, due to his habit of chewing pan masala and betel nuts.
The question often worries him, “If the cause of all this misery was the habit of chewing betel nut then why didn’t my parents ever stop me? Why didn’t they ever force me to change this habit? Why did they never inform me that this could become deadly, didn’t they know?”
Waqar is not the only case of this kind, there are numerous innocent children in different hospitals suffering from sub-mucous fibrosis, the initial stage of mouth cancer.
Out of total reported cancer cases, the incidence of oral cancer is two to four per cent in Europe but it is as high as 40 per cent in the subcontinent.
According to research it has been identified that betel nut (chalia) has a fungus that releases a cancer causing toxin. This fungus is invisible because these pan masalas marketed in Pakistan are coated with non-food colours and sweeteners, which by themselves are extremely injurious to human health. Since people including children are in the habit of chewing betel nut, or saunf supari, they are prone to oral cancer. Since children are more sensitive they are more likely to fall victim to this deadly disease.
Children, particularly those hailing from under privileged backgrounds, are more likely to buy pan masalas and chalia, as they cannot afford to buy chocolates and sweets.
Some students who are in a habit of cigarette smoking eat pan masalas/supari to hide the smell of smoke from their parents, which actually compounds the problem. Most of the above mentioned situations can be attributed to the fact that this particular nut is easily available in every nook and corner within the country. Even though its negative effects have been proved there is no legislation to ban it.
According to doctors, betel nut alone is capable of causing numerous problems and complications in children such as cancer of the mouth, tongue, oesophagus, and larynx, to name a few. These fungus-infected nuts can also damage the liver causing liver cancer. It may result in sub-mucous fibrosis causing lockjaw and smouldering feeling in the mouth besides ulceration of oral cavities. It causes stiffness in the muscles and tissues of the mouth causing the tongue to behave as if it is made of rubber, which are symptoms of initiation of cancer. In such cases the mouth of the patient becomes so stiff that it has to be opened with instruments and retained in this position with the help of wood or plastic strips to prevent further stricture.
This condition used to be common in middle-aged patients but recently youth are also reportedly suffering from it. The younger generation is more susceptive to contracting the disease as grown-ups take ten years to be affected while children contract it in just two years.
Ironically, according to one estimate one out of every four cancer patients in our country is below 18 years of age, with the youngest being 10-years only.
The dilemma is that these “cancer shops” or pan masalas and betel nuts are available at every kiosk we see on roads and streets and even in the school canteens, and their business seems to thrive unabated. The import as well as indigenous manufacture of these fancy packets of suparis should be banned to save our youth from the deadly oral cancer.
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