The global betel chewing community stands at around 600 million. Nguyên Xuân Hiên recently mapped this community, based on on-the-spot, up-to-date observations and surveys during the last decade, and on a review of literature from the last half century. His and Peter A. Reichart’s research categorizes the global betel chewing community into two groups: autochthon and allochthon/ migrant betel chewers. It also shows that Laos is an integral part of the global betel chewing area and in this article, Nguyễn and Reichart shed light on the little-known betel chewing customs of this landlocked nation.
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