Chewing qat
leaves, Cathula Edulis, is now a very common behaviour among the people of the mountainous areas of Yemen. For about the past 20 years, in tandem with national development, qat
chewing has been rapidly expanding, and the use of chemical
pesticides in qat production has been increasing. In this study, the
adverse effects on human health of qat
chewing combined with
pesticide use were investigated. Results of interviews and questionnaires showed that chewers of qat grown with few or no chemical
pesticides and chewers of qat grown with chemical
pesticides have considerably different subjective
symptoms. Chewers of qat produced in fields where chemical
pesticides are used regularly have more
symptoms than chewers of qat produced in fields where chemical
pesticides are rarely or never used. Chewers of qat produced with more chemical
pesticides, in particular, experience acute
adverse effects on
the digestive system and chronic
adverse effects such as body weakness and nasal problems. Farmers who
chew homemade qat on which they spread chemical
pesticides by themselves may have the highest health risks regarding the combination of qat and
pesticides. It is concluded that
chewing qat grown with chemical
pesticides causes considerable
adverse health effects in human beings.
