AHPA and areca nut
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
California has determined that areca nut (the seed of Areca catechu) and betel quid without tobacco meet the statutory criteria for listing as known to cause cancer, the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment states in Jan. 26 correspondence with AHPA. OEHHA's letter to the American Herbal Products Association responds to comments submitted by the group Nov. 21, when AHPA charged that California did not have the "legal basis" to identify areca nut and betel quid as cancer-causing (1"The Tan Sheet" Dec. 5, 2005, In Brief). The substances were added to the Prop 65 list Feb. 3. OEHHA disagrees with the majority of AHPA's arguments, stating that the state does have the authority, as guaranteed by the Labor Code, to list these substances. However, the Office does agree with AHPA's call to clarify that the listing will apply specifically to areca nut, and no other element of the plant such as the husk...