Inflammation of the tonsils generally refers to acute tonsillitis, and betel nut chewing is not recommended regardless of whether or not one is suffering from this disease.
As early as 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified betel nut as a class 1 carcinogen in its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Oral ulcers, dental degeneration, submucosal fibrosis and localized mucosal damage produced by betel nut chewing, as well as betel nut alkaloids in the betel nut juice, can lead to inflammatory lesions of the oral mucosa, which can be the cause of cancer.
When tonsillitis occurs, the patient’s systemic and local resistance is relatively low, and when stimulated by risk factors such as betel nut chewing, there is a risk of exacerbating the disease or even inducing cancer.
It is recommended that those who are diagnosed with tonsillitis should actively cooperate with their doctors and refrain from chewing betel nut.