Abstract
Khat (<i>Catha edulis Forsk</i>) is a large green shrub grown in Eastern to Southern Africa and extends to Arabian Peninsula. The leaf of Khat comes from a small evergreen shrub that can grow to the size of a tree. Both young buds and tender leaves are chewed to attain a state of euphoria and stimulation. Khat leaves contain Cathinone which it’s an active brain stimulant and Khat ingestion in low doses results in decreased appetite, euphoria, increased intellectual efficiency, and hyper-alertness.High doses and chronic use of Khat can cause more serious adverse neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, dental, gastrointestinal and genitourinary effects. Besides damaging health, Khat chewing has adverse socio-economic consequences effects on many other aspects of life. It has its own impact on mental and physical health of the chewers. This study was conducted from September to June 2017 using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. A total of 250 samples were included in the study. Structured questionnaire were employed during data collection with the main objectives of to assess the socio-economic effects of Khat chewing among youth of Sebeta town, Oromia, Ethiopia. The studies revealed that Khat chewing was associated with carelessness, frequent absenteeism from working place, poor academic performance of chewer students, poor interaction with the societies, depression and anxiety, poor confidence, exposed for economic problem, health problems, conflict in the family. Generally,the current Khat chewing practices in the study area are relatively high. So efforts like creating awareness about negative effects, making different recreation methods available, addressing the underlying social problems of unemployment, poor housing, and cultural alienation and promote positive measures for community development and develop a health education program to raise awareness and formulating common conventions regarding Khat use mainly by young generations are necessary to decrease the magnitude of chewing practices and thereby its associated consequences.
Highlights
The estimate of the number of people chewing Khat globally ranges from 5 to 10 million people
The respondents have reported, spending a significant amount of money and time on Khat chewing and faced health problems they attributed to their habit
The effects of Khat chewing were fairly high with statistically significant associations with sex, age, religion, social factor and income
Summary
The estimate of the number of people chewing Khat globally ranges from 5 to 10 million people. It was used to relieve biliousness and cool the stomach and liver [1]. It was brought over 700 years ago to Yemen, where it was chewed by merchants to relieve boredom. The historical backgrounds of the origin of Khat, its composition and action, pattern and extent of use, and psycho-physical and social effects, have been reviewed elsewhere [2, 12, 14]. The earliest scientific report on Khat presented in the western world, in contrast to opium and cannabis, stated that it produced a mild form of antisocial behavior and was more akin to amphetamine or caffeine-type substance
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