“IF THE AMENDMENT IS IMPLEMENTED, ALL E-CIGARETTE
OPERATORS WILL BE WEEDED OUT FROM TAIWAN.”
In 2003, Indonesian cigarette advertising was valued at
£250million. A 2016 World Health Organisation (WHO) report
found that out of 25 recommended restrictions, only five
were enforced. Cigarettes continue to be advertised on film
and TV, on billboards and at point-of-sale and there are no
restrictions on product-placement or industry sponsorship of
sporting events.
With such a pro-tobacco culture, it is unsurprising that children
take up the habit at an alarmingly-young age. Around a third of
Indonesians will have tried a cigarette by the age of 10, many
of them going on to become regular smokers.
Bans on the sale on individual cigarettes in 34 provinces are
rarely enforced, enabling children to maintain a relatively cost-
effective habit. It is commonplace for children to buy individual
cigarettes for a low price from child-vendors at kiosks
near schools.
In 2010, two-year-old Ardi Rizal made international headlines
due to his 40-a-day cigarette habit, having been given his first
cigarette by his father when he was just 18 months old.
Given the implications for the country’s economy, promoting
e-cigarettes as harm-reduction tools is something of an uphill
battle for the industry. But it is not without its proponents.
First Asia Harm Reduction Forum met in Jakarta in November
last year with speakers from across the region calling for
e-cigarettes to be regulated and promoted as a safer alternative
to smoking. But despite the potential health benefits, those in
power continue to fight against a tide that has seen millions
of people around the world ditch cigarettes, switch to vaping
and quit altogether.
Minister of Trade, Enggartiasto Lukita, dealt a heavy blow to
the industry when he recently announced new restrictions on
the importation of vaping products which be branded of “no
benefit” to the country.
The Indonesian government sees vaping as threat to the status
quo – an unwelcome competitor to the traditional tobacco
industry and vaping proponents face an uphill struggle to get
a real foot-hold in the country.
Meanwhile the vaping community in Taiwan fear that
e-cigarettes may soon be regulated into oblivion.
Proposed tough new regulations - if approved - could
virtually wipe out the entire vaping industry by banning
sales of e-cigarettes as well as all forms of advertising
and manufacturing.
Vape product imports could also be banned and nicotine-free
e-liquids would also be covered by the bans.
In such trying times, the online market has proven a refuge
and the salvation of many an over-policed vaping community,
but the amendment may even come for that. Vapers within
the Taiwanese border would not be able to import what they
needed from online shops. The ban (like so many others)
would also cover e-liquids without any nicotine.
This development marks a worrying escalation in the country’s
existing anti-vape culture, with both vapers and industry
advocates concerned that it could effectively culminate in an
all out ban, stopping a promising market dead in its tracks.
Lee Chun