Na gunu yaqona ena kena ivalavala vei keda na itaukei, na vakasama vata kei na vakatulewa e sala muria mai; vata kei na ituvaki vinaka ni vakasama nei koya na dau ni vakau motoka. (Traditional kava-drinking, cognition and driver fitness)

Abstract

Kava, or ‘the plant of the gods’, grows widely across tropical Moananuiākea (the Pacific). Used in traditional medicine, its roots are also pounded and strained through water to make a drink with relaxant effects. Kava has deep cultural significance, but because it is drunk in large quantities over several hours, concerns have been raised about its effects on driver safety. Dr ‘Apo’ Aporosa, a Research Fellow at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, has studied the impact of traditional kava use on cognition and its implications for driver fitness. The findings of that research are presented here [in the Fijian language].