Tobacco Seducing More Young People

http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/tobacco-seducing-more-young-people/278129

From 1950s heartthrob James Dean to Winona Ryder's chain smoking in “Reality Bites,” to Will Smith lighting up a cigar every time he kills an alien in “Independence Day,” Hollywood never ceases to glamorize smoking. In the past several years, however, thanks to health campaigns, such glamorization has been curbed on television and in the movies.

In Indonesia, though, not only are there no restrictions on heroes and heroines smoking on screen, the country is also one of only two that still allows cigarette advertising. The other is Zimbabwe, which like Indonesia is one of the largest tobacco exporters in the world.

As a result, global cigarette companies, whose sales have experienced a slump in the West, are pushing marketing campaigns in developing Asian countries like Indonesia. Just take a look at the television or walk the streets: cigarette commercials and gigantic cigarette billboards are everywhere.

“The worst thing is, the aggressive marketing is targeted toward youth,” said Widyastuti Soerojo, from the Indonesian Public Health Association's Tobacco Control Support Center.

The message has not changed: smoking is cool, manly or sexy, and is associated with success and money. And it works. Smoking prevalence among young people has increased, according to the Public Health Association.

An Early Start

Tobacco companies are even targeting children, sponsoring school events and giving out free packs of cigarettes to students.

Indonesia has 63 million smokers, and the World Health Organization's Global Youth Tobacco Survey of 2006 reported that more than 1 in 10 students aged 13 to 15 smoked cigarettes. The same survey also reported that 6 in 10 students were passive smokers, while a survey the year before by the Ministry of Health said a staggering 43 million children were exposed to smoke from the people around them. A number of studies also show that the age most Indonesians start smoking is as young as 10 years old.

Ade Priatna, a 16-year-old junior high school dropout in North Jakarta, admitted that the images from advertising, television and movies had influenced him and his peers to smoke.

"Peer pressure is also a factor. We'd call each other sissy if we didn't smoke," Ade said.

Taking Action

In a bid to prevent children from smoking, the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) has requested the Supreme Court to issue a legal directive confirming that cigarettes contain addictive substances. Should the court do so, the central government would automatically be required to ban the sales of cigarettes to children and pregnant women.

The commission has also filed a judicial review against a 2002 law on broadcasting, on the grounds that cigarette advertising is increasingly targeting children.

Tobacco companies continue to regularly sponsor sports events and pop concerts in Indonesia, despite being banned from doing so in other countries such as the United States. Some foreign artists have even had to take a personal stand against the sponsorship.

Last year, singer-songwriter Alicia Keys asked Philip Morris International to pull down its promotional material at her show in Jakarta, or else she would refuse to perform. Keys acted after being alerted by the Washington, DC-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. She apologized, saying she was unaware of Philip Morris's sponsorship.

Addicted to the Industry

The government has taken only restrained steps to limit smoking and done nothing to ban advertising, claiming that millions of people are dependent on the tobacco industry, from farming and production to sales of cigarettes. The tobacco industry also paid more than $4.5 billion in taxes last year, or about 10 percent of the country's total revenue.

Many experts, however, have warned that the social and economic costs of tobacco far outweigh the financial benefits. The WHO estimates that 400,000 Indonesians die from smoking-related diseases each year.

"People are sick more often and are not being productive," said David Stanford, an advocacy consultant for the Indonesian Consumers Foundation.

He said statements from senior government officials that tobacco control, such as increased taxes, would kill the industry and the livelihoods of millions of people was just a myth. "Tobacco taxation actually increases government revenues, curbing the social impact and preventing health hazards," Stanford said.

Referring to a 2005 study by the Health Ministry's Research and Development Body, Widyastuti said the economic losses due to tobacco consumption in Indonesia were actually higher than the total tobacco tax revenues.

The survey revealed that tobacco use was attributed to about 400,000 deaths a year from 11 prominent smoking-related diseases. The total direct costs of spending on cigarettes and health care for smoking-related diseases was Rp 105.4 trillion ($10.22 billion), while total indirect costs due to loss of worker productivity was Rp 61.6 trillion.

The combined total of Rp 167 trillion, Widyastuti said, was about five times higher than the government's excise tax revenues. "It all boils down to addiction. The only solution is regulation to increase cigarette prices," she said.

Labels: health, social affairs, Tobacco

Posted by hera at 3:45 AM | Permalinks | Comments

The Cost of Smoking: How the Farmers Are Left Fuming

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Bojonegoro, East Java. The clock struck an hour past noon; the field was sweltering hot, without the hint of a breeze. But the tobacco farmers from Samberan village, a three-hour drive from the East Java capital of Surabaya, still went out to work the second shift that day.

The month of April is when the farmers start the five-month-long process of farming tobacco.

“It’s much easier to take care of a baby than to handle a tobacco plant,” said Iskak, who has been growing tobacco for more than 30 years and owns less than a hectare of land.

Tobacco is high maintenance, he said, and it takes several processes to get it to harvest, from land tilling to nurturing seedlings for a month before they take root. The plant requires just the right amount of water and is highly sensitive to the weather, especially rainfall patterns. Climate change has created headaches for the farmers, causing some of their crops to fail and degrading the quality of the surviving plants.

Then there’s the numerous attacks by pests in the past few years. “It used to be only caterpillars, but now there are fleas as well,” said Kadi, another farmer. “And insecticide just doesn’t work.”

On top of these troubles, after decades of growing and supplying tobacco to cigarette producers in Bojonegoro, including Gudang Garam, Dji Sam Soe, Wismilak and 369, the farmers seem little better off.

Insufficient Incomes

Government officials and tobacco companies argue that millions of people are dependent on the industry for their livelihood, but research shows that the farmers’ incomes are far below the national average and many of them, stuck in a cycle of poverty, seem eager to switch crops.

Tobacco use has increased almost sixfold from 35 billion cigarettes consumed in 1971 to 202 billion in 2004. However, land for tobacco cultivation only increased from 170,000 hectares in 1971 to 200,000 hectares in 2004.

Less than half of the 466 farmers in this village of 2,000 people own their land; the rest are peasants, earning Rp 30,000 ($2.85) or less a day. Many farmers are still living in homes with dirt floors.

Even those who own land say they wind up with meager profits. Farmers need to have at least Rp 18 million to plant a hectare of tobacco, Iskak said, with the money sometimes obtained by taking out a loan.

“A hectare of land produces about 1.5 tons, and if the quality is good, it’s sold for about Rp 13,500 a kilogram, or a total of Rp 20 million,” he said. “That only leaves us Rp 2 million profit, or Rp 400,000 a month.”

Big producers like Gudang Garam hold sway in villages like Samberan, leasing the farmers the land, lending them fertilizers and seeds, and deducting money from their crop payments.

But farmers say they have no say in the selling price and are at the mercy of the companies in other ways. Last year, Gudang Garam declined to buy the entire harvest of tobacco in Samberan, saying the quality was not good enough. The farmers were then forced to sell their tobacco for only Rp 3,000 to Rp 4,000 a kilogram, far below the market price, to traders who apparently resold the supply to the tobacco factories in the area, also below market price.

Last year’s losses forced Abdul Somad, a middleman between the farmers and the factories, to quit. He had received fertilizer and seeds from Gudang Garam to distribute to the farmers and later collected the harvested tobacco, receiving a commission from the company.

“I collected tobacco produced by 60 farmers, covering 25 hectares. Last year was tough because the company didn’t want to buy tobacco, leaving me with millions of rupiah in losses,” he said, adding that he would rather find a new job.

Not Worth the Risks

Farmers in other regions face the same situation, according to recent research by the Demographic Institute at the University of Indonesia’s School of Economics. Indonesia has 198,000 hectares of tobacco plantations, the vast majority in East Java, Central Java and West Nusa Tenggara, where the research was conducted.

The study shows that most farmers have worked for an average 16.82 years, farming 7.14 hours a day, but only earn Rp 413,374 a month — less than half the national minimum wage of Rp 883,693 a month. Women and children also work on the plantations and receive smaller wages.

Most of the farmers, regardless of whether they own their land, stay in modest houses with either dirt or cement floors.

“Such a low income is not worth it compared to the risks taken by farmers, like climate change, pests and price decreases,” said researcher Abdillah Ahsan. “Buyers also decide the prices and quality of tobacco and there is no standard set on them.”

There are about 40 grades of tobacco, according to the research, but no set determining standard, so it’s up to buyers to decide. In many cases, he said, they manipulate farmers by saying the tobacco they sell is of the lowest grade.

Farmers also complain, Abdillah said, that the price of fertilizers, insecticides and seeds are rising but the price of harvested tobacco remains stagnant. The maximum price is Rp 25,000 a kilogram.

Widening Wealth Gap

The farmers’ lack of fortune is in strong contrast to those of the cigarette giants. PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna reported Rp 9.10 trillion in sales in the first quarter of 2009, while Gudang Garam had Rp 7.65 trillion in sales.

Cigarette czars Michael Hartono and brother Budi Hartono, producers of Djarum, are the richest men in Indonesia with a collective wealth of $1.7 billion, earning them a place on Forbes magazine’s global billionaires list for 2009.

The Indonesian Clove Cigarette Producers Association and Gudang Garam could not be reached for comment.

Tulus Abadi, from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation, said new regulations on tobacco farming were urgent given how it’s practically controlled by the cigarette industry without any intervention by the government.

“Tobacco farmers have only been used as politicking tools and [ammunition] against tobacco critics,” he said. “The cigarette industry always manipulates the number of farmers.”

Figures from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2005 showed that there were 683,000 tobacco farmers, 258,000 people working in the cigarette factories and some one million more involved in distribution and trade.

But Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said that at least 12 million people depended on the cigarette industry for their livelihoods, and cited this as the reason why it was difficult for Indonesia to sign the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which provides a framework for controlling tobacco production and sale. State revenues from the tobacco industry totaled Rp 52 trillion in 2006, making it Indonesia’s largest taxpayer.

Indonesia joined 167 other countries in signing the treaty in 2004, but remains one of only four nations that have failed to ratify it. Without ratifying the treaty, there are no limits on tobacco production, while farmers remain powerless and have no bargaining power in setting tobacco prices.

“Cigarette producers can stock up tobacco for two years, unlike farmers. When asked to pay a higher price, they say they won’t buy the tobacco and that importing it is much cheaper,” Tulus said.

About 35 percent of Indonesia’s tobacco supply is imported, mainly from Zimbabwe.

Difficult Switch

The Demographic Institute’s research shows that about 65 percent of tobacco farmers want to find other jobs or businesses, even when they own their own land.

In Samberan, some farmers have already tried planting other crops. Last year, Bojonegoro district launched a project for farmers to plant melons and corn. The harvest was good but no marketing strategy was in place, so they couldn’t sell their produce at premium prices. Some melons and corn were never sold and rotted.

“There is also a problem with a lack of infrastructure, particularly water. So when the dry season comes, we can only plant tobacco,” Iskak said, adding that fertilizer was also scarce because most supplies were going to newly established plantations in the area.

The farmers’ dependency on cigarette factories remains high. Many women work as cigarette rollers, earning Rp 20,000 a day.

“If the cigarette factories are closed, for example, the economy of this village will subside and the unemployment rate will soar as tens of thousands of people in this district work at the factory,” said Azis Zainul Abidin, a teacher in Samberan who helped with the Demographic Institute’s research. “But farming [other crops] can be empowering; it can replace the cigarette factory in the economy.”

Abdillah urged the government to issue policies that can improve farmers’ welfare, for example, by providing alternative jobs. These, he said, can be combined with an increase in the tobacco excise tax and the additional state revenue can be allocated to help farmers switch to other crops.

Labels: social affairs, Tobacco

Posted by hera at 3:40 AM | Permalinks | Comments

The Cost of Smoking: Puffing a Way Deeper Into Poverty

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To call the neighborhood of Muara Angke in North Jakarta a slum is an understatement. There has to be a whole new definition for the cramped, run-down, stilted houses that stand on the ankle-high, sometimes higher, water seeping in from the nearby Kali Adem River.

The dank and filthy water is still used for bathing and to wash dishes and clothes. The stifling smell of garbage and rotting fish fills the air.

People here work as fishermen or laborers, earning no more than Rp 50,000 (about $5) a day. It is hard just to get by, but even still, the men seem to have no shortage of cigarettes. It is an alarming fact here and elsewhere among people living in poverty: Men spend their money on cigarettes rather than food for their families.

Suleha, 28, a mother of four and occasional worker at a nearby fish market, says she is frustrated that her husband, Abdul Muthalib, spends half of his daily income, or more, on cigarettes.

Abdul works different odd jobs, including assisting fishermen and laboring in the market, pulling in Rp 30,000 to Rp 60,000 a day. Yet, he also smokes three packs a day, wasting up to Rp 18,000 on cigarettes instead of buying food for his children, who look visibly undernourished.

“Sometimes he can’t find any work and earns absolutely nothing for days. But he still smokes and asks the cigarette seller to allow him to pay for the cigarettes later,” Suleha said during an interview at her house while her husband was out. “When we have money, then we have to use it to pay that debt.”

Suleha said Abdul’s smoking has been a constant source of arguments between them. When she told him that the money could be better used to buy eggs, he barked: “What does it have to do with eggs?”

Suleha sometimes earns money herself by shucking oysters, getting Rp 6,000 per barrel.

“Our eldest son should enroll in junior high school this year, but I’m not sure he’ll be able to continue going to school,” she said. “We don’t have the money to pay the tuition.”

If only Abdul did not smoke, she said, the couple could save Rp 12,000 a day, or Rp 360,000 a month, which is more than enough to pay for the Rp 50,000 monthly tuition.

Suleha’s neighbor, a fisherman named Ilyas, is a smoker and says it is hard to quit — even if it means his son Zainudin, 14, can only go to a local alternative school for poor students that does not even award completion certificates.

Indonesia is home to some 63 million smokers, according to 2006 figures from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). According to the agency, on average, households with at least one smoker spend Rp 117,624 a month on cigarettes.

Indonesia joined 167 other countries in signing the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Geneva in 2004, but remains one of only four nations that have failed to ratify the treaty. The treaty’s stated goal is to “protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.”

Antismoking activists have urged the government to ratify the treaty, but many officials, notably Industry Minister Fahmi Idris, have rejected their calls, saying that at least 12 million people depend on the cigarette industry for jobs.

Locally conducted research, however, shows that cigarettes actually perpetuate poverty. Among the country’s poorest people, estimated to be about 40 million, or 10 million households, one in every two families have at least one smoker, according to BPS data.

The Demographic Institute at the University of Indonesia’s School of Economics says cigarettes account for 11.89 percent of total expenses among poor families, second only to rice. Among wealthier Indonesians, cigarettes account for 8.33 percent of their total expenses, dropping from second most prioritized commodity to fifth over the past several years.

“There has been a decrease, albeit slightly, among wealthy smokers,” Abdillah Ahsan, a researcher at the Demographic Institute, said about Indonesian consumer habits. “Among the poorest smokers, however, cigarette [purchases] have remained constant between 2003 and 2007.”

Poor households spend on average Rp 56,188 a month, or up to Rp 675,000 a year, on cigarettes, which is 17 times more than what they spend on meat, 15 times more than health care, 9 times more than educational expenses and 5 times more than dairy products.

“Family nutrition is sacrificed for the sake of cigarettes. And then smokers get smoking-related diseases, or die prematurely, leaving the family further trapped in poverty,” Abdillah said.

Dr. Widyastuti Soerojo, head of the Indonesian Public Health Association’s Tobacco Control Support Center, said the Ministry of Health estimated that about 400,000 Indonesians died every year from smoking-related diseases. The health cost burden to the state for treating such patients reached an estimated Rp 167 trillion a year in 2005, five times the annual revenue of cigarette excise taxes.

“Tobacco consumption in developed countries has dropped, but not in developing countries,” said Widyastuti, who is a medical doctor. “There should be a law to regulate cigarette consumption and to prevent new smokers.”

Activists say they lament the opportunities lost by poor families whose incomes are diverted to cigarettes, while the increased death rate from smoking among working-age breadwinners in poor households only serves to perpetuate that poverty.

“The cost for reproductive health is $11 a year per couple, or equal to 15 packs of cigarettes, which is a supply for 7 to 10 days,” Abdillah said. “If every smoking husband could refrain from smoking that much in a year, the money could be allocated for reproductive health costs and help prevent maternal mortality and unwanted pregnancy.”

The country indeed still has the highest maternal mortality rate in Southeast Asia at 262 deaths per 100,000 births, based on 2007 data, and the flagging “two children are enough” national family planning program has resulted in poor people having more children.

Abdillah said the government could reduce the number of smokers among the country’s poor by increasing the cigarette excise tax, which would lead to higher prices per pack.

“My research in 2008 showed that smokers from the poorest populations are susceptible to cigarette price increases,” he said. “A 10 percent increase reduced the number of smokers among poor families by 17 percent, compared to rich families, where it was only a 4 percent decrease.”

Price increases for cigarette packs, he said, would deter non-smokers in poorer populations from being tempted to take up the habit, saving them from the poverty trap.

“Increasing cigarette prices would also reduce the number of deaths and illnesses caused by smoking-related diseases,” Abdillah said. “In the end, it would prevent and reduce poverty by [forcing people] to alter their spending from cigarettes to more important commodities like nutritious food, education and health.”

However, Asep Cahyana, a smoker who lives in the Muara Angke slum, doubted that higher prices would decrease the number of smokers because cheap unbranded cigarettes were still readily available.

In that case, Widyastuti said, there should be other interventions in addition to increased taxes and sale prices, namely intensified antismoking campaigns, a cigarette advertising ban, widespread distribution of illustrated warnings and an increase in smoke-free areas.

Labels: social affairs, Tobacco

Posted by hera at 3:09 AM | Permalinks | Comments