Beeda and Babul sales flourish near schools - Health Ministry

by Carol Aloysius

The Health Ministry has cautioned adults and schoolchildren to refrain from buying babul, beeda, commercially produced tobacco and arecanut products as they are additive and had a serious health impact. “Many of these products are sold outside the school premises by street vendors. Adolescents are a high-risk target.

If consumed regularly they can cause oral cancer, Deputy Director Health Education Bureau, Dr. Mrs. R.D.F.C. Kanthi told the Sunday Observer. She said that there was an increasing number of adults and young people going to government hospitals for oral diseases caused by consuming these products.

“Our advice is to stop consuming these products immediately”, she said.

Dental caries among schoolchildren were still widely prevalent. “Eating high sugar-based food and carbonated drinks are the main cause for this,” she said.

She called upon parents to use the oral health services provided by the Health Ministry which are manned by dental consultants. “If their child has a dental problem they can get him or her examined at our special dental clinics which we hold especially for schoolchildren every Saturday morning,” she said.