of bhutan and in north bengal, where the nut is cut into half and put into a local paan leaf with a generous amount of lime. in the rest of bhutan the raw nut, with the husk on, is fermented such that the husk rots and is easy to extract. the fermented doma has a putrid odour, which can be smelled from miles. traditionally, this fragrant nut is cut in half and placed on top of a cone made of local betel leaf, which has a dash of lime put into it. "myth has it that the inhabitants of bhutan traditionally known as monyul, the land of monpas where buddhism did not reach lived on raw flesh, drank blood, and chewed bones. after the arrival of guru rinpoche in the eighth century, he stopped the people from eating flesh and drinking blood and created a substitute which is betel leaf, lime and areca nut. today, chewing doma has become a custom. doma is served after meals, during rituals and ceremonies. it is offered to friends and is chewed at work places by all sections of society and has become an essential part of bhutanese life and culture." in indonesia, the areca nut is called pinang. the addition of tobacco leaf to the chewing mixture is a relatively recent innovation, as tobacco was not introduced from the american continent until the colonial era. modern-day consumption sign in indonesia saying that chewing betelnut is prohibited. because of the mess, many places ban chewing betelnut. notably, port moresby, the capital of papua new guinea, has a ban on buai. this buai ban is from sentani airport, jayapura, papua province, indonesia. chewing betelnut produces a red residue, which is spat out. shopkeeper making paan in an indian store. areca nuts as sold in hainan, china. in india (the largest consumer of areca nut) and the rest of the indian subcontinent, the preparation of nut with or without betel leaf is commonly referred to as paan. it is available practically everywhere and is sold in ready-to-chew pouches called pan masala or supari, which is the dried form of the areca nut, as a mixture of many flavours whose primary base is dried areca nut crushed into small pieces. poor people, who may eat only every other day, use it to stave off hunger pangs. pan masala with a small quantity of tobacco is called gutka. the easily discarded, small plastic supari or gutka pouches are a ubiquitous pollutant of the south asian environment. some of the liquid in the mouth is usually disposed of by spitting, producing bright red spots wherever the expectorate lands. in the maldives, areca nut chewing is very popular, but spitting is frowned upon and regarded as an unrefined, repulsive way of chewing. usually, people prefer to chew thin slices of the dry nut, which is sometimes roasted. kili, a mixture of areca nut, betel, cloves, cardamom and sugar is sold in small home-made paper pouches. old people who have lost their teeth keep "chewing" by pounding the mixture of areca nut and betel with a small mortar and pestle. in papua new guinea and the solomon islands, fresh areca nut, betel leaf or 'fruit leaf' (daka in the former) and lime are sold on street corners. in these countries, dried or flavoured areca nut is not popular. betelnuts there are referred to in tok pisin as buai. there has recently been a controversial ban on selling and chewing betelnut in public places in port moresby. because of this, many people have tried to smuggle betelnut into port moresby. notably, there was a raid in hanuabada in may 2015 where several bags of betelnut were confiscated, the total value of the confiscated nuts exceeding us$180,000. areca nut chewing has recently been introduced into vanuatu, where it is growing in popularity, especially in the northern islands of the country. in guam and the neighboring northern mariana islands, betel and areca nut chewing is a social pastime as a means to extend friendship, and can be found in many, if not most, large gatherings as part of the food display. in palau, betel nut is chewed with lime, piper leaf and nowadays, with the addition of tobacco. older and younger generations alike enjoy the use of betel nut, which is readily available at stores and markets. unlike in papua new guinea and the solomon islands, where the inner areca nut is used, in palau, the areca nut's skin is chewed along with lime, leaf and tobacco and the juice is not swallowed but spat out. in taiwan, bags of 20 to 40 areca nuts are purchased fresh daily by a large number of consumers. to meet the steady year-round demand, two kinds of betel-nut shops sell betel and nuts, as well as cigarettes and drinks, including beer: small mom and pop shops, often poorly maintained and with unassuming façades, and shops which will often consist of nothing more than a single, free-standing room, or booth. the latter is usually elevated one meter above the street, and measures less than 3 by 2 m. large picture windows comprise two or more of the walls, allowing those who pass by a complete view of the interior. the interior is often painted brightly. within such a shop, a sexily dressed young woman, a "betel nut beauty", can be seen preparing betel and areca nuts. shops are often identified by multicoloured (commonly green) fluorescent tubes or neon lights that frame the windows or that are arranged radially above a store. customers stop on the side of the road and wait for the girls to bring their betel and areca nut to their vehicles. the habit of chewing betel nut is often associated with blue-collar labor industries such a long-haul transportation, construction, or fishing. workers in these labor-intensive industries use betel nut for its stimulating effect, but it also becomes a tool for socializing with coworkers. for example, studies have shown chewing betel nut is prevalent among taxi, bus and truck drivers, who rely on the stimulating effect of betel nut to cope with long work hours. for these reasons, oral cancer has been identified as a leading cause of death in professions with high betel nut-chewing rates. in hainan and hunan province, china, where xiangtan is a center of use and processing, a wide range of old and young people consume areca nut daily. most, though, consume the dried variety of the nut by itself, without the betel leaves. some people also consume the areca nut in its raw, fresh form with or without the betel leaves. betel nuts are sold mostly by old women walking around trying to sell it, but the dried version can be found in most shops that sell tea, alcohol, and cigarettes. in thailand, the consumption of areca nut has declined gradually in the last decades. the younger generation rarely chews the substance, especially in the cities. most of the present-day consumption is confined to older generations, mostly people above 50. even so, small trays of betel leaves and sliced tender areca nut are sold in markets and used as offerings in buddhist shrines. in australia, the importation, use, and sale of areca nut are prohibited. in the philippines, chewing the areca nut and betel leaf was a very widespread tradition in the past. now, though, this tradition is almost dead among the urban people in the cities and big towns, and has largely been replaced by gum and tobacco. nowadays, older people are the only ones chewing betel nuts. but in rural areas, betel nut chewing is very much alive. in the united states, areca nut is not a controlled or specially taxed substance and may be found in some asian grocery stores. however, importation of areca nut in a form other than whole or carved kernels of nuts can be stopped at the discretion of us customs officers on the grounds of food, agricultural, or medicinal drug violations. such actions by customs are very rare. in the united kingdom, areca nut is readily available. possession of betel nut or leaf is banned in the uae and is a punishable offense. places such as guwahati (গুৱাহাটী) in india, penang in malaysia, ko mak (เกาะหมาก) in thailand, fua mulaku in maldives and binlang islet in taiwan have been named after the areca nut. 19th century drawing of the areca palm and its nut. an areca nut dwarf variety sapling from the indian state of kerala. betel nut palm cultivation at a spice plantation in curti, goa, india. initiation of areca nut consumption appears to depend on complex psychosocial factors. production in 2017, world production of areca nut was 1.3 million tonnes, with india providing 54% of the total. as other leading producers, myanmar, indonesia, bangladesh and taiwan combined contributed 38% of the world total (table). areca nut production country tonnes(2017) india723,000 myanmar147,524 indonesia136,837 bangladesh119,039 taiwan102,165 world1,337,115 source: faostat, united nations