Editing Areca nut (section)

===South Asia===
In India (the largest consumer of areca nut) and the rest of the [[Indian subcontinent]], the preparation of nut with or without betel leaf is commonly referred to as ''[[paan]]''. It is available practically everywhere and is sold in ready-to-chew pouches called ''pan masala'' or ''supari'', which is the dried form of the areca nut, as a mixture of many flavours whose primary base is dried areca nut crushed into small pieces. Poor people, who may eat only every other day, use it to stave off [[Hunger|hunger pangs]].<ref name=Javed-2010/><ref name=Collingham2006>{{cite book| last=Collingham| first=Lizzie | title=Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors| url=https://archive.org/details/curry00lizz| url-access=registration| year=2006| publisher=Oxford University Press| location=Oxford| isbn=978-0-19-988381-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/curry00lizz/page/7 7]}}</ref> ''Pan masala'' with a small quantity of tobacco is called ''[[gutka]]''. The easily discarded, small plastic ''supari'' or ''gutka'' pouches are a ubiquitous pollutant of the South Asian environment. Some of the liquid in the mouth is usually disposed of by spitting, producing bright red spots wherever the expectorate lands.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In the [[Maldives]], areca nut chewing is very popular, but spitting is frowned upon and regarded as an unrefined, repulsive way of chewing. Usually, people prefer to chew thin slices of the dry nut, which is sometimes roasted. ''Killi'', a mixture of areca nut, betel, cloves, cardamom and sugar is sold in small home-made paper pouches. Old people who have lost their teeth keep "chewing" by pounding the mixture of areca nut and betel with a small mortar and pestle.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}