Indonesia has been described as “Disneyland” for the tobacco industry. Lax regulation has led to some of the highest smoking rates in the world, children and young people are blatantly targeted. Now, a new youth advocacy coalition is working to stop the industry’s free ride.
Images of chain-smoking Indonesian toddler Aldi Suganda flashed around the world in 2011, and the situation is just as disturbing today: 19 percent of Indonesia’s 13- to 15-year-olds (most of them boys) are tobacco consumers – compared to 7 percent of that age group globally. Three quarters of Indonesian children see tobacco advertising and nearly two thirds are exposed to second-hand smoke.
Although the sale of tobacco products is prohibited at educational facilities by law, many schools are geographically surrounded by tobacco retailers with outdoor advertisements. Single cigarette sticks can also easily – and cheaply – be bought at these shops. Most retailers do not refuse to sell cigarettes to adolescents. Worse still, Indonesian tobacco plantations profit from child labour and expose their young workers to hazardous chemicals, dangerous conditions and financial exploitation. It is no coincidence Indonesia is among only nine countries not party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). It is the only Southeast Asian country not to have signed. Against the might of the tobacco industry’s resources, the Indonesian government has struggled to overcome political barriers and sign the FCTC or ratify stronger tobacco-control policies.
