Areca nut use in rural Tamil Nadu: a growing threat.
BACKGROUND
Areca nut is the fourth main psychoactive substance in the world. In India, tobacco is added to the quid and the commercially manufactured nonperishable forms of betel quid (pan masala or gutkha) are on the rise in the market.


OBJECTIVE
To find out the prevalence of areca nut among the rural residents of Sriperambudur Taluk.


METHODS
A community-based survey using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire.


METHODS
The survey was conducted in 2 villages and their colonies, which were randomly selected out of 168 villages. Data was collected from 500 residents of the study population. The survey was conducted for a period of 2 months.


METHODS
SPSS version 10.0.


RESULTS
The study participants were more likely to initiate areca nut use by 22 years of age. As many as 19.8% (n = 99) of the study participants chewed areca nut products, out of whom 11.2% (n = 56) indulged in chewing habit alone (areca nut products). Areca nut use was higher among male study subjects compared to females. The commercial forms of areca nut products (gutkha) were the most prevalent ones [47.5% (n = 47) of those who used areca nut] observed in the community. Compared to female participants, male participants were more likely to perceive areca nut use as the most harmful habit draining the community health and wealth.


CONCLUSIONS
There seems to be an increase in the prevalence of areca nut use. The community also perceives it to be a harmful habit. Therefore, effective interventions should be targeted towards the high-risk subpopulation of the community to decrease the prevalence of areca nut use in rural Tamil Nadu.
Rajan
Gunaseelan
G
Chennai Dental Research Foundation, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore, Chennai, India. shanthi_srk@yahoo.com.
Ramesh
Sowmya
S
Sankaralingam
Shanthi
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001114:Areca; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication; D008875:Middle Aged; D009754:Nuts; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*