YEMEN WANTS ITS 17 MILLION PEOPLE TO JUST SAY NO TO CENTURIES-OLD HABIT

SAN'A, YEMEN - Most of the men and a majority of the women in Yemen chew
khat, green leaves that produce a mild narcotic effect, every day. But the
government, hoping to boost productivity and the farm economy, is trying to
curb its use.

In Yemen, khat is the drug of choice, and has been so for centuries. Many
men take off at midday to find a day's supply of khat leaves, then spend
the rest of the day relaxing with friends. The leaves come from the tops of
carefully tended trees. About half the water that Yemen uses for irrigation
goes for khat. So much khat is grown on Yemen's erstwhile food-crop land
that Yemen will need to import about 1.3 million tons of wheat this year.

"I only chew khat two days a week," Khaled Alyousefi said. "This is one of
the days."

Alyousefi, a flight attendant, wheeled his car off the highway into a
crowded market where men hawked just one product from wattle and daub huts
and the backs of station wagons. They sold khat -- tender, emerald green
leaves that produce a mild euphoria when chewed.

In "Brave New World," Aldous Huxley's dark, futuristic novel written in the
1930s, nearly everyone ingests a drug called soma to deliver them into a
world of comfort and peace.

The Arabian Peninsula country of Yemen has its soma in chewing khat, a
centuries-old habit that the government of this emerging democracy wants
its 17 million citizens to break. Besides sapping workers' productivity,
khat is viewed as a drag on Yemen's farm economy.

But it's like telling Americans to quit coffee.

According to surveys, 80 percent of the men in Yemen chew khat, most of
them daily, from midafternoon until evening. About 60 percent of women
chew, a symbol of their progress in a land where women only recently have
won the ability to move about freely and to vote.

This month, the government moved to curb the use of khat by ordering a
national workday that runs from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. rather than the shorter
version that usually occurs. Newspapers and civic leaders joined the
anti-khat campaign.

But people are resisting. After heading to the market about 1 p.m. to
secure choice, red-tinged stems of khat for about $1.50, Yemenis enjoy a
few hours of socializing. With friends, they unwrap the branches from pink
cellophane, stuff leaves in their mouth and chew. And chew. And chew. They
may or may not return to work.

They swallow rather than spit, drinking bottle after bottle of water or
cola to combat khat's desiccating effects. The result is mildly narcotic,
similar to the outcome of swift and heavy coffee intake or, perhaps,
amphetamines. Westerners, who typically are offered leaves throughout the
day, risk a sleepless night by indulging.

By late afternoon, partiers may feel a bit spacey. But, as with Aldous
Huxley's soma, no one seems badly hung over.

To many, khat is the glue that holds people together in an Islamic land
where liquor is forbidden. It has been that way since the 10th century.
Under khat's influence, people bask in one another's company, talking
ceaselessly about politics, religion or, perhaps, where to get the best khat.

Yemenis dotingly cultivate their national drug. Stands of shiny green khat
trees look like oases in the arid foothills of central Yemen. They ought to
look good -- about half the water that Yemen uses for irrigation goes for
khat. So much khat is grown on Yemen's erstwhile food-crop land that Yemen
will need to import about 1.3 million tons of wheat this year for the
country's starchy diets.

Just after dawn, workers use ladders to start their climb up the
20-foot-high trees, where they snip the most tender branches and rush them
to markets. Ethiopia and East Africa also grow khat, but no country is as
hooked as Yemen.

As of this month, the government has forbidden police, soldiers and
bureaucrats to chew on duty. To set an example, President Ali Abdullah
Saleh announced that he had forsworn khat.

It may take more persuasion, said Alyousefi, the flight attendant. By now,
he has gathered with his friends, including prominent businessmen and a
physician, for a khat-chew. Leaning on low-slung cushions spread on thick
carpets, happy from their khat, they seem as comfortable as humans can get
- -- except for what looks like tennis balls stuffed in their cheeks.

"If the government wants us to stop, they ought to be building parks for us
and give us something else to do," Alyousefi said.