To an outsider it's a grotesque sight. Here, almost every visible face carries the characteristic bulge, the bloated cheek full of green leaves betraying the qat habit. Ninety percent of the men follow this regime daily. Fifty percent of the women chew it in less public displays. The drug increases the pulse and blood pressure, keeps you awake and "stimulates the mind". Yemeni intellectuals have been chewing qat for six hundred years. But many fear that qat has taken such a hold on the country that it's ruining the economy, making people lazy and giving Yemen a bad reputation. Fruit plantations are being ripped up to feed the habit. A fascinating look at a hidden culture suddenly in the spotlight.

Produced by ABC Australia