Arecanut farmers from Karnataka and Kerala are worried that the World Health Organisation (WHO) might ban arecanut, calling it cancer-causing. The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Limited (CAMPCO) has written to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, asking him to request that WHO reclassify arecanut from Group I (known to cause cancer) to Group II-B (possibly causes cancer). Currently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of WHO, classifies arecanut as Group I carcinogen. However, arecoline, a main component of arecanut, is in Group II-B. CAMPCO president S.R. Satishchandra said, “Such contradictions underscore the need for further rigorous, India-specific scientific scrutiny before arriving at any policy-level conclusion.” He suggested this reclassification be an interim step while India’s ongoing research on arecanut and human health, led by the Central Arecanut Plantation and Crops Research Institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is completed. This research involves many leading institutions like AIIMS, Indian Institute of Science, and others. CAMPCO’s letter came before a WHO South-East Asia regional webinar on January 30, focusing on arecanut policies. CAMPCO points out that WHO's cancer classification largely comes from studies on chewing mixtures like betel quid and gutkha that include tobacco and additives—not pure arecanut. A ban on arecanut would impact millions. India is the world’s biggest producer, with nearly 20 million people depending on it across 11 states, especially Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Assam. Arecanut also has deep cultural and religious importance. The government said in the Rajya Sabha that Karnataka produced 10.32 lakh tonnes of arecanut in 2023-24, 73% of India’s total output of 14.11 lakh tonnes. Besides Health Minister Nadda, CAMPCO's S.R. Satishchandra also wrote to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Kerala, among others.