Topic summary
Betel nuts
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Areca nut.
Oceania
In Papua New Guinea (PNG), betel nuts are referred to in Tok Pisin as buai, and grow abundantly on the northern coast, in Wewak and Madang. A controversial ban on selling and chewing betel nut in public places in Port Moresby, introduced in 2014 by the governor, was lifted in 2017. Because the popular nut continued to be smuggled in, prices rose dramatically. Police enforced the ban rigorously, and in 2015 two betel nut sellers died in Hanuabada after police reservists fired on a crowd. The governor of Port Moresby introduced another ban on the nut, restricted to an area in the business district of the city in July 2023. However many people make a living out of selling betel nut, so are resistant to bans in their areas. On Manus Island, young men are exposed to piracy when they use small boats to travel to the northern coast to purchase betel nuts to trade, and several have disappeared.