Karnataka farmers urge Union Government to recommend to WHO to re-classify arecanut from carcinogenic to possibly carcinogenic to humans

Fearing that the World Health Organisation (WHO) might recommend banning arecanut on the ground that it causes cancer, a leading cooperative body of arecanut farmers of Karnataka and Kerala has written to Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda to recommend to WHO to re-classify arecanut from Group I to Group II-B.

Currently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), under WHO, has placed arecanut under Group I (carcinogenic to humans) while arecoline, one of its principal constituents, is classified under Group II B (possibly carcinogenic to humans), stated S. R. Satishchandra, president, Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Limited (CAMPCO), Mangaluru, in his January 24 letter to the Minister.

“Such contradictions underscore the need for further rigorous, India-specific scientific scrutiny before arriving at any policy-level conclusion,” the letter states.

Mr. Satishchandra said that the re-classification (from Group I to Group II-B) be done ‘at least as an interim measure’ till the Indian government’s on-going ‘evidence-based research on arecanut and human health’ is completed. The multi-institutional research is led by the Central Arecanut Plantation and Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences; the National Botanical Research Institute; the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology; the Indian Institute of Science; Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research; the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI); Kasturba Medical College; K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, and SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital are part of the research team.

The CAMPCO, over a 50-year-old multi-State cooperative body of Karnataka and Kerala farmers, wrote the letter in view of WHO’s South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) organising a webinar on January 30 on the topic ‘Areca Nut Challenge: Turning Policy into Impact in South-East Asia’.

The letter stated that the webinar follows deliberations arising from a declaration made in Sri Lanka in October 2025, and appears to focus on policy transition and implementation related to arecanut.

The WHO classification, as widely noted, is largely derived from studies examining chewing preparations, such as betel quid, gutkha, and pan masala, which include tobacco and other additives, rather than arecanut in its natural or traditional form, the CAMPCO stated.

It claimed that a ban on arecanut will have far-reaching socio-economic implications. India is the largest producer of arecanut globally, and its cultivation supports the livelihood of nearly two crore persons through farming and allied activities across 11 States, notably Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Assam.

Arecanut occupies a significant place in India’s religious, social, and cultural traditions. Reference can be found in ayurvedic literature, including the Charaka Samhita, the letter stated.

The Union Government informed the Rajya Sabha on August 1, 2025 that, as per 2023-24 estimates, Karnataka is the largest producer of arecanut in India with an annual production of 10.32 lakh tonnes, which constitutes 73% of total arecanut production, through cultivation on an area of 6.77 lakh hectares, which constitutes 71% of total area under arecanut in India. Total national production stood at 14.11 lakh tonnes.

Mr. Satishchandra has also written to Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal; Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah; Kerala Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan, and Chennai-based M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation Chairperson Soumya Swaminathan.