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 Indonesia has one of the highest rates of smoking and is the world's
fourth-biggest cigarette producer, mostly of the pungent "kretek"
clove and tobacco variety, but parliament has proposed a law to
boost tobacco output further.
A few groups are now pushing back against Big Tobacco in the country
of 250 million people where nearly two-thirds of men smoke and a
cigarette pack can cost less than $2.
In eastern Jakarta, a row of at least a dozen houses at the Penas
Tanggul neighborhood were painted with bright colors in March, with
a blue banner hung near the entrance declaring it a smoke-free zone.
Residents there have been encouraged to stop or to avoid smoking "so
this neighborhood will not just be beautiful, but also healthy",
said Nobby Sail Andi Supu, a 22-year-old student who coordinated the
program with a civic group.
More than 200 people, mostly students, held a protest last month to
oppose an upcoming industry exhibition of cigarette-making machines
in Jakarta and is planning another rally next week, said Manik
Marganamahendra, one of the protest organizers.
Cigarette companies are targeting young Indonesians with new
products such as fruit-flavored cigarettes, as well as attractive
packaging and advertisements, the 20-year-old Marganamahendra said.
"We actually want the cigarette industry to totally disappear, but
it can't happen overnight," he told Reuters. "We would like to
remove the dependence of the Indonesian people on cigarettes."
Despite health concerns, the tobacco industry is often defended in
Indonesia by politicians and others as an important source of income
for farmers and revenue for the government.
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Indonesia produced 269.2 billion cigarettes in 2015, according to
research firm Euromonitor International. The market was valued at
231.3 trillion rupiah ($17.3 billion) and growing fast.
Major cigarette companies operating in the country include PT
Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk, which is controlled by U.S. giant
Philip Morris International Inc, Djarum Group and PT Gudang Garam
Tbk.
At Penas Tanggul, 18-year-old high school student Kholid Wahyudi
said he felt the pressure to cut back on smoking after his
neighborhood went smoke-free.
"I feel embarrassed here, especially when I'm with my friends who
don't smoke," Wahyudi said. "I used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a
day, but now I can reduce it to two to three sticks."
Underscoring the challenge of spreading the anti-smoking message to
other parts of Indonesia, several construction workers near Penas
Tanggul were seen puffing away.
(Fixed typo in paragraph 12)
(Reporting by Stefanno Reinard and Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Ed
Davies and Nick Macfie)
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