Newer, Imperishable Forms of betel quid
The popularity of betel quid has decreased in South Asia over many years, the main reason being that its perishable does not fit into the modern lifestyle. During recent decades, fairly use has become common, especially among younger people.
Supari (a North indian word for areca nut), as a commercial preparation, consisting of small roasted and flavored pieces of areca nut, is often served to guests after meals. Mainpuri tobacco is a preparation that has been popular in Utlar Pradesh for many years. It contains tobacco with fine cut areca nut, slaked lime, camphor and cloves. Mawa is a newer preparation containing thin shavings of areca nut with the addition of some tobacco and slaked lime. It gained popularity in Gujarat, especially among youth, and a high increase in prevalence took place in the 1970s and 1980s. In a house-to-house survey in Bhavnagar District, Gujarat, India, 20.4% of total males were using mawa or betel quid in a surveyed population of nearly 22,000 villagers aged 15 years and older whereas in earlier surveys during late 1960s such use was rare.