Ransaru Wildcrafted Dehydrated Betel Crushed Leaves Pack contains betel leaves that have been dehydrated and crushed, packed by Ransaru in a kraft stand-up pouch. The label gives the name in English and in Sinhala, where the betel leaf is called bulath.
The glossy, heart-shaped betel leaf is one of the most familiar objects in Sri Lankan social life. A sheaf of betel leaves, the bulath atha, is offered with both hands to pay respect to parents, teachers, elders and monks, and it appears at the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, at weddings and at the doors of temples. A tray of betel leaves is also set out to welcome guests.
Betel leaf is most often chewed wrapped around areca nut with slaked lime, a mixture known as betel quid. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies betel quid, even without tobacco, as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), linked to cancer of the mouth, and classifies areca nut on its own in the same group.
Nothing on this page is a recommendation to chew betel quid or to consume this product in any form. It is offered as a dried leaf in the Sri Lankan tradition, not as a medicine.
