Betel nut is sure to set up a special tube! Administrative Councillor Lin Yi: vows to put an end to betel nut's plight of "no law to govern"

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Betel nut has been "lawless" for decades, causing damage to ecology, chewers and farmers. Lin Yi-jin, an administrative member of the Executive Yuan, declared that he would actively accept betel nut management. It should be transformed from the past "three noes" (no guidance, no encouragement, no prohibition) to a "three essential policy": propaganda, guidance, prevention and control!

Lin Yi today (2) said at a press conference on the results of the 10th investigation on the Prevention and treatment of Oral Cancer in Counties and cities that he would jump out of the cognitive dispute over whether betel nut is a food or not, and directly compare with the tobacco control law and formulate a "betel nut special law." from the field production end of betel nut, the market contact surface, the education prevention surface, the health education promotion end to work out the implementation details of each department, the inter-ministry will work together to promote Vow to put an end to the predicament of betel nut which has been "lawless" for many years.

Feng Haidong, director of the Prevention and Inspection Bureau, said that due to the special way of spraying betel nut from the bottom up and spraying it all over the sky, the pesticide was dispersed and the pollution of neighboring fields was serious. He stressed that the Bureau of Prevention and Inspection will try its best to announce a set of feasible field management techniques for betel nut orchards before the end of the year, including available chemicals and non-pesticide control practices, hoping to reduce the harm of betel nut use.

The spraying method of betel nut is easy to affect the surrounding ecological environment (upstream and downstream data)

Executive Yuan: the transformation of betel nut policy ── should be publicized, counseled and prevented.

The report published in the July issue of "upstream and downstream" uncovered the largest pesticide loophole in Taiwan-betel nut co-operation for 30 years, revealing that although betel nut is the second largest crop in China and its production area is second only to rice, it is full of loopholes in management. government units kick each other's balls and have long ignored the demand for betel nut in the field and the problem of additives at the market end.

Lin Yi, an administrative member of the Executive Yuan, said at a press conference today that at present, both the "Taiwan Betelnut Cancer Prevention Alliance" and the National Health Department of the Ministry of Health have put forward a version of the betel nut special law, and the Legislative Yuan is expected to discuss it in the next session. to put an end to the plight of betel nut that has been "lawless" for many years.

In the part of the transformation of betel nut, Lin stressed that the formulation of the "special law" does not require the betel nut garden to disappear immediately, nor is it intended to create antagonism between betel nut farmers and other farmers. However, now that we know that the mode of production and consumption of betel nut have a great impact on the public and the environment, it is necessary to discuss appropriate management methods. In the future, if betel nuts are gradually going out under the screening of free mechanisms such as market demand and consumer preferences, the government should also give farmers sufficient resources and guidance.

Executive Yuan Administrative Councillor Lin Yat (Photo / Lin Xiejun)

Committee of Agriculture: announce the comprehensive prevention and control law of betel nut before the end of the year

It has been reported in Nantou for three consecutive years that improper use of betel nut has led to the mass death of bees, which has not only seriously damaged the livelihood of bee farmers, but also made the local ecology suffer from pesticide poisoning. Although the government declares that the problem of betel nut will be addressed squarely, the formulation of a "special law" will take time, and can it prevent the recurrence of the honeybee catastrophe next year?

Lin Yi points out that the "special law" is discussed in many details from the prevention of betel nut to the treatment of betel nut, but the formulation of field drug management is the power and responsibility of the Council of Agriculture, and it is not necessary to wait for a special law to open up the field medications that are reasonably available to betel nut farmers. Can be announced at any time.

In this regard, Feng Haidong, director of the Prevention and Inspection Bureau of the Council of Agriculture, said that the local improvement fields (Taichung Field and Kaohsiung Field) that had contacted betel nut production areas had collected the demand for disease and pest control that might be encountered in betel nut planting. At present, it has been pointed out that "coconut moth" is the main pest, which gnaws on flower buds and directly affects fruit. It is highly harmful to flowers and fruits, and is the main pest of palm plants such as coconut and betel nut.

Various pesticide bottles and cans discarded in mountain fields (Photo / Cai Jiashan)

It is "very difficult" to change the way of spraying betel nut, which needs to be studied from scratch.

However, because the way of spraying betel nut is "quite special", "it is a way of spraying betel nut from the bottom up and into the sky, so the problem of dispersion is particularly serious. There are very few chemicals that can be used for betel nut and will not cause pollution in neighboring fields. Current medicaments are risky, especially if they are used during flowering, pollination insects will also be killed."

In this way, is it necessary to guide betel nut farmers to change the way they spray medicine? "this is very difficult. After all, it takes time to change the existing technology and habits of farmers, and it may take more time to develop new technologies. After all, in the past, the government did not encourage the cultivation of betel nuts. This area of research is equal to zero, so we have to start all over again."

Feng Haidong pointed out that at present, it is not possible to open up the pesticide products available to betel nut farmers, but stressed that a set of feasible field management techniques for betel nut orchards, including available pesticides and non-pesticide control practices, will be announced before the end of the year. Hope to reduce the harm of betel nut drugs to the public and the environment.

Han Liangjun: betel nut has "the reality of food" calls on the government to take care of it.

Han Liangjun, chairman of the Taiwan Betel Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance and honorary professor of the School of Dentistry at National Taiwan University, says that betel nuts have not been regarded as food for a long time. However, it is a fact that Chinese people will put betel nuts into their mouths and their bodies will absorb betel nuts. "although betel nuts do not have the name of 'food,' they have 'food quality'. We should not neglect the risks of people who eat and come into contact with them, and we should manage them well."

The Taiwan Penang Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance also announced the results of the 10th and 108 survey on the prevention and treatment of oral cancer in counties and cities at a press conference today. A total of 21 counties and cities in 22 counties and cities across the country responded, only Yunlin County did not participate. The scoring items are: verifiable effectiveness data, self-made characteristic achievement posters, as well as the alliance monitoring county and city government website information, questionnaire submission and so on.

Taking 6.1% of the adult champagne chewing rate as the benchmark, the organizers distinguished the "high chewing champagne group" (a total of 12 counties and cities) and the "low chewing champagne group" (a total of 9 counties and cities), each selected three groups of excellent counties and cities, and according to the content of self-made characteristic achievement posters in the counties and cities, selected the "characteristic Achievement Award", and this survey also added the "Internet popularity Award". Han Liangjun said that the purpose of holding the competition is to enable the whole people to participate in the event, and to enable people to take root in the concept of betel nut control for a long time through annual statistical surveys.

List of counties and cities of high and low chewing champagne groups in 107 years. (provide / Taiwan Penang Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance)

Counties and cities share experience in promoting the prevention and treatment of Penang cancer

At the press conference, counties and cities shared and exchanged how to promote the prevention and treatment of betel cancer. Taoyuan City, Changhua County and Pingtung County were awarded the "high chewing betel group" three counties and cities. The head of the Health Department of Taoyuan Health Bureau surnamed Chen said that under the jurisdiction of the owners of the media site of the Dudu Development Bureau and the works Bureau, oral cancer screening for employees was carried out, and the "prohibition of betel betel" was also included in life conventions and manuals to promote betel nut prevention from the workplace, combined with the Sports Bureau. Let the basketball team with good image shoot anti-champagne short film to promote betel nut for junior high school and high school students.

Yao Yujin, section chief of the Changhua County Health Bureau, pointed out that the "champagne program" was held under its jurisdiction to warn against the health hazards of smoking and betel nut chewing, and creative competitions were designed for students of different grades. For example, elementary school students hold "smoking cessation elves" and junior high and high schools promote "national smoking testing". The main purpose is to take root in education.

In Keelung City, which won the "low chewing champagne group" with excellent performance, Keelung City Health Bureau surnamed Lin said that Keelung has a large population engaged in fishing, and fishermen are one of the main ethnic groups of champagne chewers, so anti-champagne education for school children is all the more important. Dentists within their jurisdiction form a guild and hold regular elementary school summer camps to deepen students' understanding of the consequences and influence of chewing champagne by means of competitions and passes. They also hope that students will appeal to their elders not to eat betel nuts, so as to achieve the role of "children turning into pickets."

Taiwan's Betelnut Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance released the results of the 10th survey on the prevention and treatment of oral cancer in counties and cities, calling on the government to pay attention to the issue of betel nut prevention and treatment. (photo / Lin Xiejun)

The alliance calls for more medical manpower: early detection and early treatment.

Since 1999, the Taiwan Penang Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance has launched a survey and competition on the prevention and treatment of oral cancer in various counties and cities, and this year expires ten years. Shu Jingxian, vice chairman of the alliance and CEO of the Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation, said that this year, the counties and cities in the high chewing betel group had better performance in the positive tracking rate (screening positive cases and tracking results) and adult chewing betel chewing rate, and the awareness rate of betel nut carcinogenesis was also higher than the national average; as for the low chewing group, the counties and cities performed well in the abstinence service, and the incidence of men decreased.

Looking at the promotion of betel nut control over the past decade, Shu Jingxian points out that the social structure is the most difficult to change. Workers have a refreshing need to chew champagne because their working hours are too long and the workload is too heavy, especially in the transport and construction industries. The "champagne-chewing culture" in the workplace actually extends from labor conditions. "We have heard some workers say that they have no time to drink water at work, so they have to eat betel nut all the time, because betel nut has the function of invigorating body and relieving thirst. In order to earn money from work, it hurts their health. This is putting the cart before the horse."

The Taiwan Penang Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance stressed that when it promoted the survey on the prevention and treatment of oral cancer in various counties and cities ten years ago, only 14 counties and cities responded, with a participation rate of almost 100% in the past two years, indicating that the public is more aware of the prevention and treatment of Penang cancer. In the next decade, it is expected that the formulation of the "Betelnut Special Law" will be completed as soon as possible, from primary prevention (promotion, prevention) to secondary prevention (screening, treatment). It is also involved in betel nut production and marketing management, such as the conversion of waste betel nut orchards, production and drug use, and so on.

At the same time, it is necessary to face squarely the problem of insufficient medical human resources, resume the training of screening physicians and abstinents, and increase the frequency and quality of oral cancer screening. "the formulation of a special law can provide a legal basis for betel nut prevention and treatment. Otherwise, even if the health bureau wants to promote oral cancer screening, enterprises may not cooperate, and then resources should come in, and health units should not be allowed to fight alone. This is limited." Shu Jingxian said.

Taiwan's Penang Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance held the "investigation and Competition on the Prevention and treatment of Oral Cancer in counties and cities". This year, the "Internet popularity Award" was added. Representatives of the top three counties and cities: Tainan City, Taichung City, and Hsinchu City took the stage to receive the award, which was presented by the chairman of the Union, Han Liangjun. (photo / Lin Xiejun)

The problem of children chewing champagne at an early age: it is suggested that the guardian of Champagne should be fined and preached in class.

Looking through the statistical data of the past ten years, although the betel chewing rate of adults shows a downward trend, the betel chewing rate of teenagers in half of the counties and cities has increased continuously for three years, and the awareness rate of cancer caused by betel nut in Chinese is still insufficient. The incidence and mortality of oral cancer in men have not decreased significantly. The incidence of oral cancer is 22.43 (7805) per 100, 000 population, and the incidence of male is as high as 42.43 (7144). Oral cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death. more than 3, 000 Chinese people die of oral cancer every year, which continues to threaten the health of the people.

Liu Zhiyang, head of the advocacy group of the Taiwan Youth Rights and Welfare Promotion Alliance, said that according to the survey report of the Department of Health in July, 70% of the domestic and high school students' first champagne chewing experience came from relatives and friends, and nearly 60% of the junior high school students who had tried betel nut occurred before the age of 11. He called on the government to face squarely the problem of children chewing betel nut at an early age, and suggested that the parents and guardians who provide betel nut to underage children should be included in the legal system. For example, only by imposing fines or arranging classes for publicity can we effectively make up for the loopholes in the implementation of the existing laws and provide a healthier and safer environment for children to grow up.

Number of oral cancer cases and deaths in recent years (provided / Taiwan Penang Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance)

The incident of "sudden death of honeybees in Puli" will be updated at any time.

[exclusive investigation] uncover the biggest Pesticide loophole in Taiwan │ Betelnut Co-operation for 30 years

Note: the Taiwan Penang Cancer Prevention and Control Alliance is composed of 9 social groups and 4 experts. At present, the nine group members of the alliance are: sunshine Social Welfare Foundation, Taiwan Cancer holistic Care Foundation, Oral Pathology Society of the Republic of China, Oral and Maxillofacial surgery Society of the Republic of China, National Federation of Dental Associations of the Republic of China, Family Dental Association of the Republic of China, Taiwan Cancer Prevention Association, Taiwan Civilization Disease Prevention and Promotion Association, Affiliated Hospital of Taipei Medical University. The four expert members are Professor Han Liangjun, Professor Li Mingxian, Chief Executive Officer of Huang Sweden and Secretary General Huang Chi Lizi.