China is battling to control an epidemic of betel-nut addiction, with officials banning sales of the mild stimulant because of fears it heightens the risk of oral cancer.
An estimated 700 million Chinese consume the nut, mostly by chewing it. Beijing has issued a ban on adverts for products that contain it, on television and online, and now the eastern city of Yiwu has banned their sale altogether.
Fu Song, a 36-year-old pop singer, died of oral cancer this month. He said the disease was caused by years of chewing betel. Fu had urged fans to avoid the nut, which is also known as the areca nut and is the seed of the areca palm.
Yiwu’s ban on sales was backed by state media, with
