11.   The step is the latest in a national campaign against the mild stimulant, a bitter leaf that is widely chewed by rich and poor alike in Yemen.

12.   When chewed, the leaves act as a mild stimulant and ward off hunger and thirst.

13.   Betel nut trees, which produce olive-sized fruit commonly chewed as a mild stimulant, have short roots and do not firmly anchor the soil.

14.   Educators tell parents to give the mild stimulant to their children so they behave in class.

15.   Though khat is a relatively mild stimulant, it can make users edgy and it probably dulls physical skills.

16.   While some defend betel as a mild stimulant that is uniquely Taiwanese, others blame the nut for illnesses, including mouth cancer.

17.   But in Sanaa there is still no shortage of one basic commodity -- qat, the evergreen plant whose leaves when chewed are a mild stimulant.