Time ripe for ban on betel productsBefore his death from mouth cancer on Sept 10, Fu Song, a 36-year-old singer, warned the world to stay away from betel nuts, a carcinogenic substance he chewed regularly; in fact he was so addicted he could not give it up even after his diagnosis.His death triggered calls for banning betel products. Reports say betel nut sellers in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, have been asked to remove all betel products from their sales list, while Yingshan county in Sichuan province has banned it altogether.Market regulators are finally waking up to the danger posed by betel nuts. The World Health Organization's list of carcinogenic substances mentions betel nuts, betel pieces that contain tobacco, and betel pieces that do not contain tobacco.In Hunan province, where betel nuts are consumed more than in any other region, the incidence of mouth cancer is 20 times higher than the national average, making it among the top 10 causes of deaths of men there.Worse, many betel
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