Thread: Burma's Government Polls the Public on Betel Nut

RANGOON — The President’s Office opened an online poll on Wednesday night to collect the public’s thoughts on reducing betel nut chewing and spitting in government offices and public places.

On May 27, the Burmese government launched a new anti-betel policy, which includes educational programs about the diseases resulting from betel nut chewing, and the enforcement of an ban on chewing, spitting or selling betel nut in or near government offices, schools and hospitals.

This policy, seemingly more strident than that espoused by previous governments, would have to contend with what is a highly ingrained habit among men and women in Burma.

Critics have since contended that the government should instead prioritize ridding drugs, alcohol and gambling from urban spaces, since these are far more injurious to public health—for the youth in particular—and are leading contributors to criminality. Critics have also pointed to the welfare of Burma’s many betel quid sellers, who could be deprived of a livelihood.

At 4 p.m. on Thursday, 2,284 out of 4,804 (47.5 percent) stated that gambling, drugs and alcohol should be targeted in tandem with betel nut. The second largest percentage group agreed with the policy aims but disagreed with the implementation strategies. The next largest group totally agreed with the government’s plan. Only 120 disagreed with the plan outright.

“We conducted this poll because we wanted to know the public reaction’s to the policy, positive or not,” President Office’s spokesperson Zaw Htay told The Irrawaddy. He expected the poll would continue for five more days, but this has not been confirmed.

Zaw Htay said that individual government departments would also conduct non-online polls in select parts of the country, to check for variant reactions.

Under the previous military-backed government under President Thein Sein, an online poll was conducted only once, to gauge the public’s opinion on increasing civil servants’ salaries. The betel nut poll is the first to be conducted by the new democratically elected government.

Zaw Htay said that the polls’ results would be considered when state and divisional governments across Burma implement the policy.

“Though the government issued the policy, it needs to be acceptable to the public, so that they may follow it. We need a positive reaction to be able to successfully implement it,” he said.

“We are also working against drugs, illegal medicines and bad food hygiene. But for these, we don’t need to conduct a poll, since the public’s opinion is already clear,” President Office’s spokesperson said, responding to criticism that the government should be prioritizing the control of drugs and alcohol rather than targeting low-income betel nut sellers.

In most cities in Burma, drug and alcohol addiction is of great concern to the public. In recent years, police across the country have been seizing record quantities of illicit drugs. In February, police in Rangoon seized over 260,000 methamphetamine pills worth over 1.3 billion kyats (around US$ 1 million) that had been abandoned in Mingaladon Township.

Government Polls the Public on Betel Nut

Myanmar Government Issues New Guidance For Reducing Betel Nut Chewing



Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi ordered all state and regional chief ministers on Tuesday to avoid misusing their power after some shut down betel nut vendors following a request for them to help reduce citizens’ highly addictive habit of chewing and spitting out the tree seeds, a government spokesman said.

It is customary for both men and women in the Southeast Asian nation to chew betel nuts—the astringent kernels of the seeds of the betel palm—in small parcels of tobacco and slaked lime as a stimulant much like westerners consume caffeine or smoke cigarettes. But the rust-colored juice that the nut produces when chewed stains teeth and can cause cancer.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto national leader, asked the chief ministers a few days ago to take action to make people cut down on their habit of chewing the nuts and spitting out the dark juice in public places.

But after some local administrators ordered betel nut vendors to stop operating, Aung San Suu Kyi’s office issued further instructions to clarify her previous request, said Zaw Htay, spokesman of the President’s Office.

“She doesn’t like it that some authorities have misused their power, because she didn’t instruct them to shut down the betel nut shops,” he said.

“The original instruction was to reduce the betel nut chewing habit, not to shut down the shops,” he said. “She said to find alternative ways for vendors’ to make a living other than by selling betel nuts.

“But it became a misuse of power and affected ordinary people,” Zaw Htay said. “Aung San Suu Kyi is unhappy about this, and that’s why she has released this second set of instructions.”

The guidance also noted that democratic countries, such as Myanmar, do not enforce orders through threats or authorities’ abuse of power, he said.

Aung San Suu Kyi also told the state and regional chief ministers to give special consideration to the rule of law and seek advice from legal experts, he said.

Enforcement policy

On May 27, Myanmar’s National League for Democracy government issued a new policy to enforce an existing ban on chewing, spitting or selling betel nuts in or near government offices, schools and hospitals, the online journal The Irrawaddy reported.

But the announcement did not provide any details as to how authorities would enforce the ban or how far from public buildings betel-nut users must stand, the article said.

The government also said it would begin an educational campaign to inform citizens about the health risks of chewing betel nuts and the stains it makes on streets and buses when users spit out the juice, it said.

“Many people across the country chew betel nuts, which are one of Myanmar’s customs,” the government’s statement said, according to The Irrawaddy. “This harms the appearance of government offices, schools, hospitals and towns, and also causes mouth, throat and tongue cancers.”

Critics of the move argue that the government should focus on eliminating illicit drugs, alcohol abuse and gambling from cities because they pose greater threats to public health, especially for young people, according to The Irrawaddy. They also contend that the country’s ubiquitous betel nut sellers will lose their livelihoods.

Myanmar Government Issues New Guidance For Reducing Betel Nut Chewing