The Red Menace: India's paan habit

Simon Harding

The streets of Delhi are messy places. Litter lies in gutters, ready for the rag pickers' evening round. Dust, rubble and building materials spill onto the street and growing businesses literally expand beyond their modest premises depositing sawdust, rags, oil, bones and often their customers in the street. But the most notable stains on Delhi's public space are the countless 'splat' marks, which dot roads, pavements, steps and parks, staining everything in their path a dark crimson. After initially thinking that these stains marked the violent ends of some unfortunate rodents, I soon learned that the scarlet blobs were of entirely vegetarian origin: they are paan stain. Paan is the Hindi term for chewing tobacco.

Traditionally, paan consists of areca nut and a bewildering choice of pastes and spices all expertly mixed to the customer's taste by a skilled paanwallah and wrapped in an edible betel leaf. An expert paanwallah carries the tools of his trade in a silver box called a paandaani, which has separate compartments for the numerous ingredients: cinnamon, saffron, coconut, cloves, sugar and tobacco amongst others. The areca nut acts as a mild stimulant, rather like a strong coffee, whilst the herbs and spices aid digestion and freshen the breath. In times gone by, offering paan to guests was considered the height of hospitality and sophistication in north Indian homes. Today paan lovers still enthuse about the qualities of certain mixtures, ingredients and various varieties of betel leaves, in the same manner as the members of a gentleman's club might praise a good cigar.

But paan is not only for the rich. Every street has its paanwallahs: small stands or kiosks which make paan freshly to order for Rs.2-5 per wrap. Betel leaves are neatly laid out on the counter whilst the paanwallah, usually a middle aged man, tweaks the balance of flavours to please the customer, who will then become a regular. The price is reasonable, the ingredients decent and the robust end product does the job: freshens the breath and livens the palette.

Paan does not keep fresh for long. With a billion potential paan chewers, it is no wonder that large scale food processors and manufacturers have got in on the act by producing paan or paan masala in tiny plastic pouches, dispensing with the betel leaf all together, for Rs.1 or 2. Strips of brightly coloured plastic pouches decorate every paan shop. Each has its own distinct flavour. Gutkha, paan masala with tobacco, is marketed as 'Dilbag' (joyous heart), 'Shikar' (mountain peak) and 'Triangar' (tricolour) to name a few leading brands. However, big business has become more involved in producing paan without tobacco, such as 'Rajnihganda' with its strong lime flavour and 'Paan parag', which tastes of cashew. The lower-middle classes and working classes are the main consumers of this cheap manufactured paan.

The splatterings on Delhi's public spaces are the red remnants of these mass-produced paan sachets, which are ripped open, chewed and then spat out with great speed and power. Hardened paan chewers can get through ten sachets a day. Many become addicted to the nicotine in the brands with tobacco.

Although middle class Delhites turn their noses up at the spitting habits of the aam aadmi (common man), the health risks associated with paan overshadow perceived 'bad manners' problem.

Both the areca nut and the betel leaf are known carcinogens. Add tobacco to the mix and the effects on health become even more grave. A recent study found that chewing paan with tobacco increases the risk of oral cancer by 9.9 times. Remove the tobacco and this risk is still 8.4 greater than normal. Regular paan consumption is also associated with hypertension and cancers of the liver, prostate, stomach and lungs. Less serious are the unsightly red tinged teeth and gums, which are the tell tale signs of a hardened paan chewer.

Studies suggest that the cheap mass produced gutkha paan laden with tobacco is more damaging than the fresh variety mixed by the paanwallah and wrapped in a betel leaf. Sadly, the heaviest gutkha paan users are the poor and lower-middle classes, who are least well prepared to deal with the medical consequences. 

Not only is fresh paan better, or not as harmful, to the body, it is also better for the economy. Fresh paan provides employment for the paanwallahs and keeps their skills alive. It also provides a livelihood for the country's betel leaf farmers who meet India's domestic demand for this temperamental, labour and capital intensive crop. Let's hope that the paanwallahs and the betel farmers are not washed away as easily as paan spit marks in the monsoon rain.