Qat is chewed fresh, in company and slowly. A chewer works young leaves and shoot tips into a wad in one cheek over several hours, usually in the afternoon and usually with friends, family or colleagues. The custom belongs above all to Yemen and to Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya, and travelled with people from those countries to Europe and North America. This page describes it as researchers and public bodies have recorded it.
An old custom
Khat chewing is centuries old. Arabic chroniclers of the 14th century wrote about khat growing in the mountains of Yemen and near Harar in Ethiopia, and the plant may have reached Yemen from Ethiopia in the 6th century (PROTA4U). Its regular use has long been concentrated in the Muslim communities of southern Arabia and eastern Africa.
PROTA describes three settings that recur through the literature: long days of fieldwork in rural areas, religious and family gatherings, and work that demands staying awake, such as driving. Since the 1970s a fourth has grown fastest: the long social afternoon, especially in Yemen, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.
The mafraj
In the old city of Sana'a, the tower houses rise four to nine storeys, and there are an estimated 6,000 of them (Aramco World, 2006). The top floor holds the mafraj, the reception room. Archnet's description of the 17th-century Bayt al-Belayli calls it the room where the men of the house and their guests gather in the afternoon to chew qat and smoke the water pipe, with views on several sides (Archnet).
A mafraj is usually the most carefully finished room in the house. Low cushions run along the walls, and above the windows sit the qamariya: semicircular fanlights of coloured glass set in white plaster, which throw patches of coloured light across the room as the afternoon goes on. The old city of Sana'a has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986 and has been on the list of World Heritage in Danger since 2015 (UNESCO).
How a session works
The leaves are chewed, not swallowed whole. PROTA describes it step by step: fresh young leaves, sometimes with tender shoot tips, are chewed and added a few at a time until a wad forms, which is kept in the cheek and chewed slowly until the juice is gone. The residue is spat out or swallowed. Chewers drink a lot of cold water alongside, and many smoke cigarettes or a water pipe.
It takes time. The ACMD, the UK government's advisory council on drugs, notes that khat has to be chewed for one to two hours before the effect arrives, and that the sheer bulk of leaf limits how much anyone takes in (ACMD 2013, paragraphs 69 to 71). Most chewers in its UK review used one or two bundles of about 250 g in a session lasting four to six hours. Solitary chewing was described as most uncommon.
| Detail | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bundle size in the UK | about 250 g, stalks included | ACMD 2013 |
| Bundles per session | one to two | ACMD 2013 |
| Session length | four to six hours | ACMD 2013 |
| Chewing before effect | one to two hours | ACMD 2013 |
| Leaf needed for two hours | about 150 g of tender leaves and tips, from a 500 g bundle | PROTA4U |
| Freshness | ideally under two to three days old | PROTA4U |
Leaves that have become too hard or stale are sometimes dried and pounded into a paste with water, sugar or honey, or brewed as an infusion. Because cathinone fades as the leaf dries, these forms are much weaker; see Catha edulis and its alkaloids.
Harar, Meru and the diaspora
In Ethiopia the area around Harar is the heart of production, and khat goes by road to Djibouti and Somalia and by air from Dire Dawa to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. In Kenya, where it is called miraa, it comes mainly from Meru on the slopes of Mount Kenya and from the Nyambeni Hills, and part of the crop is flown to European cities (PROTA4U).
Outside the region, khat use is concentrated in communities with roots in the Horn of Africa and Yemen. In the UK the ACMD found that Somali chewers tended to meet in khat cafés, while Yemeni chewers gathered at home with family and friends. The explanatory note to the Dutch ban says that in the Netherlands khat was used mainly by Somalis and Dutch people of Somali origin (Staatsblad 2013, 1). How farmers produce the daily supply is described on how the shrub is grown.
Acute effects as recorded
Users of fresh khat describe more energy, alertness, self-esteem and elation, and an easier flow of ideas and talk, according to the ACMD (paragraph 34). The explanatory note to the Dutch ban describes euphoria with an energetic, alert and excited feeling lasting a few hours after chewing. The ACMD adds that blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate and body temperature go up.
The same Dutch note describes what follows when the effect wears off: poor concentration, low mood, irritability, loss of appetite and trouble sleeping, then lethargy and drowsiness the next morning.
Risks on record
- Dependence. Usually described as mild but long-lasting with frequent use; the Dutch note cites research classifying about 11 percent of users as problem users.
- Liver. The ACMD describes a series of UK chewers with severe liver damage attributed to khat, five of whom needed a liver transplant over a five-year period.
- Mouth and stomach. PROTA links the tannins in the leaves to inflammation of the stomach lining, the mouth, the gullet and the gums.
- Heart and circulation. Raised blood pressure and heart rate during use; the evidence on heart attacks is weak and mixed according to the ACMD.
- Mental state. PROTA lists toxic psychosis among the consequences of excessive chewing.
- Social cost. PROTA and the Dutch note both point to the strain on household budgets and working time.
These records describe risks. They are not a guide to using khat, and khat is illegal to possess in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany; see khat and the law.