Strong of its ability to shape state policies and influence officials Yemen Youth started back in 2012 a No Qat Campaign. The move which at first made many smile and shrug a little as Qat - a green leafy mild narcotic chewed daily by millions of Yemeni throughout the social spectrum - is as popular in Yemen as Football is to Europe is again gaining in momentum.

Over the past 12 months members of the No Qat campaign led by social sites celebrities such as journalist/writer Hind Eryani, considered the heart and sole of the movement, Afrah Nasser, journalists- political refugee in Sweden, fought tooth and nail to raise awareness, using social sites -- YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter -- and attract new supporters to their cause.

For those campaigners, Qat represents everything that is broken in Yemen society. Often compared to "the devil inside" Afrah Nasser once commented on Twitter back in 2012 that Yemen was a nation on drug in need of an intervention.

In January 12, 2012 Yemen No Qat day was introduced. And although only a few actually rose to the challenge by giving up a lazy afternoon of chewing, the wheel was set in motion, holding the promise that one day Yemen will manage to leave QAt behind once and for all.

"Qat is embedded in our DNA," joked Nada a civil servant "It would take a miracle for people to give up the habit .... But after all if we managed to break a three decades-long dictatorship what's a few plants?"

And while Nada's remark was only meant to be funny, the young woman raised an interesting point.
Will addiction to Qat be as easily brought down as three decades of tyranny? Because as far as anyone can remember Qat has always been part of Yemenis' lives.
Having been classified by the World Health Organization - WHO - as a narcotic - alongside cocaine - Qat is a perfectly legal past-time in Yemen, a national sport even. Qat is scientifically known as Cathaedulis, a medium-sized shrub or tree known for its leaves, which release stimulating substances - amphetamines - when chewed. Side effects include -- high blood pressure, tooth decay, constipation, hemorrhoid, hallucinations and depression --

In 2011 a report from the International Food Policy Research Institute established that over 50% of the adult male population and one out of four adult female chewed the leaf green at least once a week. Other reports estimated figures to be much higher with a great percentage of children believed to be hooked on the plant as well. Children with bulging cheeks are a common site in Yemen and since the state never established an age limit on Qat consumption or even cared to legislate the trade, it is likely the plant will find its way to yet more mouths.

The No Qat campaigners are leaving no stone un-turned in their fight against Yemen national addiction, determined to return Yemen to its former glory, free from chemically induces euphoria.

More than just a narcotic, Qat is actually responsible for much of Yemen's ailments, having depleting the country's precious underground water resources - the plant consumes four times more water than plants of tomatoes - and ruined its agriculture bio-diversity - forcing the state to import over 90% of its food requirements, Qat is responsible for thousands of new cases of cancer every year and liver related diseases, costing Yemen millions of Rials every year.

Rich from her peers experience Hind Eryani pressured the government into joining her campaign by exerting pressure on officials through a relentless E-campaign. Back in 1972, Prime Minister Mohsin al-Aini banned Qat-chewing in all public offices and prevented cultivation on lands run by state-controlled religious trusts. The move was meant by death threats from Qat lobbyists and al-Aini was eventually forced out of office.

But the young activist and her group of supporters have something al-Aini did not have, the power of the internet and a global campaign. If anything the Arab Spring movement proved beyond doubt that the internet can be more powerful than any lobby, armed group or regime for that matter.

With #NoQat trending on the internet and several projects launched in Yemen the campaign seems as unstoppable as a runaway train.

In Haraz, an area known for its Qat agriculture a group is working to uproot Qat trees from the area to return the land to its original coffee crop growing tradition. “We will uproot qat trees completely in the next two or three months from our land in order to clear our country from qat completely. There won’t be any qat tree in the next two to four months,” said local councilman Ahsan al-Qad to al-Arabiya on Tuesday.

Omar al-Hemyeri, a Yemeni lawyer, designed a draft law which will render Qat illegal in all state facilities.

High profile Yemeni personalities voiced their support of the campaign -- Tawakkul Karman, prominent researcher and writer Dr Azmi Bishara; former Yemeni representative to the Arab League Abdel-Malik Mansour and Human Rights Minister Hooria Mashour to only name a few.

Even Ali al-Amrani, Minister of Information and Dr. Abdel-Razaq al-Ashwal, Minister of Education officially caught up with the movement in 2012, having agreed to help in their professional capacity, therefore raising the profile and reach of the campaign to a new national level.
With several victories under their belt, Yemen No Qat activists are determined to make 2013 count.