PROPOSED BETEL NUT PRICE CONTROL ‘It promotes addiction’

Saipan Mayor Jose C. Sablan has criticized a plan by the Legislature to set price control on betel nuts on the island, saying the move is tantamount to promoting addiction.

He also disagreed with the legislators’ claims that chewing betel nut is part of the indigenous culture, noting that people who follow this practice are just hooked on the “addictive properties” of the concoction.

Sablan was commenting on the measure sponsored by Rep. Timmo Olopai which seeks to legislate the price of betel nuts sold in stores and to impose tax on their importation.

The lawmaker has justified the legislation in view of the exorbitant costs of betel nuts here, citing them as a luxury item to most residents who have considered them basic necessities.

But the Saipan mayor questioned the need to set a price ceiling on betel nuts which he compares with tobacco products that are now being restricted by various governments worldwide.

“The very mention or hint of a price control is enough to send chills up a businessman’s spine,” he said in a letter to the House Committee on Natural Resources which is reviewing Olopai’s bill. “And when such mention is coming from the Legislature, the businessman envisions doomsday.”

Taking potshots at the justification by lawmakers, Sablan warned that enacting such a legislation would mean promoting chewing betel nut in the same way as supporting other forms of addiction.

“Betel nut chewing is not a ‘cultural thing.’ People chew the betel nut concoction because they are hooked on (its) addictive properties,” he explained.

“Many parents introduce the ‘cultural thing’ to their children at a very early age. It follows that these children will grow up being addicted to the ‘integral part of the local culture and tradition,’ betel nut chewing (in) much the same way that young people become hooked on nicotine, alcohol, marijuana.”

Sablan said he finds it “ironic” that the Commonwealth would consider this bill while other governments, where tobacco use is both a cultural and profitable venture, are trying to discourage smoking by levying higher taxes on its products, like cigarettes.

He also reminded legislators of the lawsuits against tobacco companies over health concerns that resulted to billions of dollars in damages awarded to state governments in the country.

“Prolonged use of betel nut can cause cancer. Will the Legislature be liable for enacting pro-betel nut chewing legislation,” asked the mayor. “It is something to think about.”

While there is no decision yet whether to vote on the issue, Olopai’s proposal would cap retail price of betel nuts to no more than $1 for young nuts not less than six pieces as well as for hard ones not less than five pieces.

He has maintained the price ceiling would prevent store owners from taking advantage of the high demand for betel nuts on the island as chewing them has long been a practice of the indigenous people and citizens from other Micronesian islands.