TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Control Yuan on Tuesday criticized the Cabinet for failing to establish regulations governing betel nut consumption despite years of recommendations from the oversight body.
Control Yuan members Jan Yung-ching (趙永清), Fan San-lu (范巽綠), and Hsiao Tzu-yu (蕭自佑) said the agency has monitored the government's progress on regulating betel nuts and addressing their health risks for the past six years. They criticized Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) and Deputy Agriculture Minister Hu Jong-i (胡忠一) for saying further public opinion surveys are needed before determining the next steps, per Newtalk.
The members said betel nuts have been classified as narcotics in Turkey since 2014 and that the United Nations has classified them as carcinogenic, per CNA. They added that because betel nuts are not regulated as food in Taiwan, there are no regulations governing the additives consumed with them, allowing the use of heavy metals and other potentially harmful substances.
The members noted that Taiwan has the world's highest incidence of oral cavity cancer, adding that oral cavity and esophageal cancers cost the country’s healthcare roughly NT$15.2 billion (US$470 million) in 2025. They also cited 2023 Health Promotion Administration data showing that 2.8% of teenage students had tried betel nuts, while only 57.2% were aware of their carcinogenic risks.
The members also pointed out that betel nuts are Taiwan's second-largest crop by planting area after rice. Because betel palms have shallow root systems, they argued, they are unsuitable for hillsides and contribute to slope instability.
Although the Ministry of Agriculture has promoted crop conversion and farm closures since 2014, the members said betel nut plantations still cover about 36,000 hectares. They urged the Cabinet to ban betel nut imports, introduce legislation regulating additives and pesticide use, impose a tax on betel nut consumption to help offset healthcare costs, and strengthen public education on the product's carcinogenic risks.
