Too arrogant! Betel nut is carcinogenic, and more than 20,000 people have their faces cut. "Blocking" is useless, threatening to buy a doctor's head!

I believe everyone has a feeling--

There are so many betel nut advertisements around!

Elevators, bus stations, variety shows, live e-sports... all are betel nut ads.

Chewing betel nut causes oral cancer, it is a fact recognized by the medical profession.

△In 2013, "The Face-Cut Man in the Kingdom of Betel Nuts" nakedly demonstrated the horror of chewing betel nuts

However, in the past few years, the sales of betel nuts have not declined at all, but have grown rapidly.

For example, X Weiwang, a leading betel nut company, and its high-end brand "XX World", sold 800 million packages in 6 years.

According to its official website, "annual tax payment exceeds 100 million yuan, and tax payment has increased by more than 60 times in 10 years."

Incredible!

Isn't it carcinogenic? Why can advertisements be overwhelming, as if there is no such thing?

Betel nut, why can it be so arrogant!

Students studying music in Wuhan

I can't open my mouth

Hubei, the "neighbor" of the hometown of betel nuts, has a deep understanding of how terrible betel nuts are.

Seven or eight years ago, Peng Youjian, director of the Department of Stomatology, Wuhan University People's Hospital, met the first betel nut patient, and he is still very impressed.

"He is a student of a certain music conservatory in Wuhan. He is a handsome guy from the Northeast. Suddenly he can't open his mouth."

The upper jaw, soft palate, buccal and sublingual mucosa are all fibrotic. The opening degree is 1.5cm, and even a horizontal finger cannot be put in.

And he spent less than half a year chewing betel nuts.

After I came to Wuhan to go to school, I saw that my roommates in Hunan were all eating betel nuts and followed them.

△ Pickled Betel Nut

There were many such college students. In addition, there are migrant workers and drivers, all of whom are young men in their 20s and 30s.

These people have obvious characteristics: their faces become stiff, and they have no expressions when they speak.

Director Liu Zhiming of the Department of Stomatology of Wuhan University People's Hospital mentioned that in Hubei, the incidence of oral submucosal fibrosis and oral cancer is increasing year by year.

"Most of it is related to chewing betel nuts."

In 2016 and 2017, Wuhan University Stomatological Hospital received a total of 2608 patients with oral mucosal fibrosis. They all have the habit of chewing betel nut for a long time. The shortest time to onset is only two to three months.

This is just the initial stage of the evil of betel nut.

△Wuhan University People's Hospital

Professor Jian Xinchun of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University clearly stated in his publication "Betel Nut Carcinogens and Oral Cancer"-

"Chewing betel nut can cause oral submucosal fibrosis, which is a kind of precancerous lesions that can turn into oral cancer after a long-term chronic pathological process."

The ingredients in betel nut, such as arecoline, betel nut tannin, and reactive oxygen species, are inherently cytotoxic and even carcinogenic.

Once the oral mucosal epithelium thickens or hyperkeratosis, or progresses to oral cancer, you can only "cut your face."

In 2013, "The Face-cut Man in the Betel Nut Kingdom" reported the experience of Liu Sangguo from Xiangtan——

Underwent oral cancer surgery, the left mandible, left gum and lymph were cut off, and the atrophic face was sunken into a fist-sized deep pit. The left eye nerve was also compressed after the operation, and by 2013 he was completely blind.

There are even more terrifying tongue cuts.

After the tongue is cut, the taste function is lost, and the swallowing function is reduced; if the tongue is not cut, the oral cancer has spread, and he may not live for two years, or starve to death, or die of pain.

Some patients also have to cut meat from the thighs, arms or chest to "patch" the tongue. In the end, the hair on the legs grew from the tongue, and he had to come to the hospital for trimming regularly.

It's scary.

In the process of seeking medical treatment for patients with oral cancer, every photo recording will give people a strong sense of shock and discomfort.

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The following picture may be uncomfortable

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△Left: Patients with suboral mucosal lesions; Right: Patients with oral cancer surgery

In 2017, Xiangya Hospital estimated that there were nearly 25,000 cases of oral cancer induced by betel nut in Hunan, accounting for one-third of the country's total, a staggering proportion.

Wang Han from Xiangtan, the strongest "betel nut carrier"

Contrary to the horror of betel nut, it has unscrupulous advertisements across the country.

Guangzhou is a typical example.

This city hardly eats betel nuts. Now, you can meet it whenever you walk out of the house.

On the bus station, the advertisement of betel nut is bright yellow, very big and conspicuous.

△A betel nut advertisement at a bus station in Guangzhou (photographed by reporter Jiang Ying)

△A betel nut advertisement on a Guangzhou bus

A Weibo netizen said: "Reminds me of my fear of being dominated by XX world advertisements in Changsha Metro."

You can also buy betel nuts in convenience stores and commissaries, and some are placed at the checkout counter, just like buying chewing gum.

△The betel nut in the canteen is on the counter (Source: Internet)

As early as 2003, the World Health Organization identified betel nuts as a first-degree carcinogen.

However, in the same year, when Wang Han was the host of "Super Girl", he verbally broadcast the slogan of a certain brand of betel nut "Your taste, I know".

Suddenly, the sales blowout, becoming Hunan's largest green fruit betel nut brand.

△Wang Han endorses betel nut advertisement

This is the test of the entertainment marketing of betel nut enterprise.

From 2017 to 2019, "XX King" sponsored Hunan Satellite TV Spring Festival Gala for 3 consecutive years;

In 2017 and 2018, it was named the Lantern Festival Joy Club at the same time;

"XX World" Betel Nut, named Mango TV's self-made variety show "Wild Kitchen";

In the variety show "1.3 Billion Decibels" hosted by Wang Han, Wang Han and Sa Beining chewed betel nuts and broadcast live...

High-profile publicity has brought considerable benefits.

For example, "XX King"——

According to its official data, overall sales in 2017 rose 78% year-on-year; in 2018, the market share exceeded 50%, and the high-end market accounted for 71%.

Not a young man

Escape from the betel nut advertisement

Middle-aged men in small towns smoke and chew betel nuts. This is the original image of the betel nut crowd.

But now, they are all targeting young people.

What do young people like, where are the betel nuts?

Variety shows, NBA stadiums, live e-sports, major short video platforms...

This year, "XX King" was named the basketball sports variety show "This is Slam Dunk".

"Xiangtan XX" sponsored the Deyun Club reality show "De Yun Dou Laugh Club". The players and guests in the show are familiar faces of young people.

In the 2016 NBA season, betel nuts also appeared at the Golden State Warriors VS Memphis Grizzlies game.

△In the sports and competitive variety show "This Is Slam Dunk 3", which was launched this year, the contestants showed the betel nut products titled the show. The show targets young people.

E-sports is a more accurate circle of young people, and they often sit in front of the computer for a whole day, and they need to be refreshed.

In 2017, XX Betel Nut sponsored the ECGC e-sports competition held in Hubei Province and even sold it on site.

In 2019, he appeared on the Huya live broadcast platform again, titled the League of Legends S9 National Finals.

△ Live broadcast platform Douyu's betel nut advertisement

Brush your face frequently and high-profile for a long time, don't believe you are not interested.

Faced with doubts about health risks, businesses launched corresponding health care products to dispel health concerns.

"No burning", "No smoke", "Goji berry betel nut", "Break betel nut", "Coffee betel nut", "Mint betel nut"...

Carcinogenic things are packaged as health products. Are you ironic?

It was once blocked, but it was blocked for two months.

Does no one care about such a high frequency of facial promotion?

I managed it, but it was useless.

In February 2019, an article entitled "Billions of "soft drug" betel nuts and 60 million Chinese who are addicted" sparked heated debate.

In March, the Hunan Betel Nut Food Industry Association issued the "Notice on Stopping Advertising"——

Stop all domestic advertisements, and stop publishing media platforms including but not limited to newspapers, radio stations, television stations, highways, airports, railway trains, subways, buses, network platforms, electronic screens, shop signs, cinemas, taxi tops, etc.

However, this ban did not last long.

In March, a "ban" was issued;

In May, the betel nut "advertisement" blossomed in disguise on the short video platform.

△In May, King XX launched a short video challenge on the short video platform, with a cash prize of 10,000 yuan to attract participants to shoot and publish videos related to King of Taste. Has been played more than 10 million times

Now, in major cities, there are betel nut advertisements all over the streets.

Is the ban a dead letter?

Some media asked relevant departments for verification, and the Hubei Provincial Market Supervision Bureau stated that advertisers would not interfere with their normal business operations as long as they did not violate the Advertising Law.

It can be seen that the documents issued by the industry association are not legally binding on betel nut enterprises.

To put it bluntly, it means "control yourself". Whether to fulfill it or not depends entirely on self-consciousness.

But who would really hit his job?

In fact, as early as 2013, CCTV's "News 30 Minutes" reported on the carcinogenicity of betel nut, and the betel nut brand encountered a large-scale collective boycott.

In February last year, the National Health Commission issued the "Healthy Oral Action Plan" and directly named——

Chewing betel nut is a high-risk behavior that causes oral diseases.

The magic is that after experiencing the "winter" again and again, it can "recover" with the help of high-profile marketing.

How big is the capital power behind betel nut?

Hunan doctor was threatened to buy a head of 800,000 people

The reporter called Xiangya Hospital of Central South University to make an appointment with Professor Jian Xinchun of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, but was refused.

The correspondent revealed that because of warnings from the local betel nut industry, Professor Jian would not come forward for an interview.

As early as 2014, Professor Jian Xinchun said that someone had threatened to spend 800,000 on his head.

In 1983, he admitted to a 15-year-old girl who sold betel nuts at home, so she ate every day. As a result, I couldn't open my mouth, and couldn't eat spicy or salty ones.

At that time, Professor Jian Xinchun put his finger in and touched the oral mucosa. The cheeks were very hard, as if he had touched a hard board.

Later, the girl was diagnosed with oral submucosal fibrosis.

This is the first time that betel nut has been found to be associated with oral mucosal lesions in China.

Since then, Professor Jian has conducted a large number of field and empirical investigations, holding real evidence that betel nut causes cancer.

In 2019, the "Research on the Causes of Oral Submucosal Fibrosis and the Correlation of Carcinogenesis" published by Jian Xinchun's team mentioned that the relative risk of oral submucosal fibrosis in the betel nut chewing group is that the betel nut chewing group 109 ~287 times.

He made it clear that chewing betel nut is directly related to oral cancer. Precancerous lesions appear but are ignored. 3.3%-4.5% of people will become cancerous.

But these voices were repeatedly covered up.

△After oral cancer surgery (Source: Internet)

The betel nut industry is the economic pillar of Hunan and Hainan.

Wanning, Hainan is the largest producer of betel nut, while Hunan is the largest producer of betel nut on the mainland.

In 2018, the "People's Daily" reported that the annual output value of the betel nut processing industry in Hunan Province has exceeded 10 billion yuan, and more than 300,000 people are engaged in betel nut production and processing.

In Hainan, the betel nut industry can create an annual output value of 14.6 billion yuan this year, which can be called a "golden fruit" and is an important source of income for Hainan's 2.3 million farmers.

As a result, betel nut is always swinging between "God of Wealth" and "God of Death".

Then you can only take a step back.

At the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in 2018 and 2019, Bian Zhuan, the dean of Wuhan University Dental Hospital, twice submitted a proposal to the National People’s Congress to suggest that the packaging of betel nut products should be printed with hazard warnings and the sale to minors should be prohibited. Betel nut.

"Control betel nut chewing like smoking."

A city full of betel nut advertisements

The future is the hardest hit area for oral cancer

No more action

It's too late!