Figure 1: A) Traditional preparation of areca nut. A decorative guillotine-stylebetel nut cutter, probably from nineteenth century Rajasthan India, is shownwith a sliced areca nut. B) Twenty-first century areca preparation. A packet of Pan Masala, along withthe contents of a similar packet, showing the brownish-red areca nut fragmentsas well as fennel seed and other ingredients used to flavor this brand of pan.All of the ingredients have been coated with an artificial sweetener, making thissort of product appealing to adolescents as well as adults.