NEWS
TROUBLE
IN ASIA
INDONESIA’S FLEDGLING VAPE
INDUSTRY FACES UPHILL BATTLE
WHILE TAIWAN INCHES CLOSER
TO TOTAL VAPE BAN
Around 34% of Indonesia’s population smoke tobacco, making
it the fifth largest tobacco market in the world. Perhaps rather
unsurprisingly therefore, Tobacco claims 300,000 Indonesian
lives each year.
Vaping bars can be found throughout capital city Jakarta, providing
vapers with a cost-effective escape from the hubbub of city life
and the pervasive smell of tobacco smoke.
But tobacco is big business. It provides the country with huge
tax revenues and keeps millions of people in employment.
This, combined with Big Tobacco’s presence in the country, has
overshadowed the harm-reduction benefits that e-cigarettes
could provide.
About 88% of the country’s smokers use kreteks, small cigarettes
that contain a blend of tobacco, cloves and other flavourings.
They are even more harmful than traditional cigarettes, containing
almost four times as much tar, and the signature clove oil is
notoriously harmful to the lungs. Despite this, kretek production
continues to grow, and now provides 5% of the country’s
annual revenue.
While the country recently announced tax increases on tobacco
products, the industry continues to be hugely profitable, with
almost non-existent advertising restrictions to contend with.
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