For young women in Indonesian society, the journey through adolescence to adulthood is a time of conflict between personal desires, religious expectations and social beliefs (Pampel 2006). When looked at closely, the shared beliefs and desires in Indonesia propose opposing views, creating internal battles, particularly for young women, as they grow into their independence and thus are faced with more decisions. These conflicts can be broken down by individually understanding the nation wide Muslim beliefs, the societal expectations, the public advertising, particularly that related to tobacco, and the individual desires of young women, represented through the thoughts and feelings expressed by interviewee, Alya Nadira.

(Indonesia woman smoking – Ozy, 2017)

When speaking to 21 year old ITS student, Alya, she shared the conflicts she has faced in what she claims to be a “sexist” and “judgemental culture” (2018). Although she believes in her Muslim religion and admits to praying, the young woman says she doesn’t wear the vale and participates in haram acts such as drinking and occasionally smoking. When asked why, she states “I am a young person I just want to live freely, but it doesn’t mean I don’t believe in god” (2018). The act of a young Indonesian woman smoking is viewed as taboo and those that choose to are judged and seen in the public eye as a “bad girl”. However this judgement does not exist for male smokers, with approximately 76% of the male Indonesian population smoking (The World Bank 2016).

(Malbaro campaign advertisement, Quit Big Tobacoo, 2016)

Tobacco companies in Indonesia promote an aspirational lifestyle, using images of outdoors adventures and adrenalin sports to share with the public that being a part of the smoking culture will bring freedom and adventure, targeting teenagers and young adults (Quit Big Tobacoo, 2016). This message saturates most physical and digital spaces in Indonesia, telling the public that they can obtain this life of freedom, and yet this idea of freedom seems unattainable for women, for if they do choose to smoke and follow the path of “freedom”, they are judged for it. Although the advertisements are a tactic to fuel consumerism, the fact that public advertising and the shared belief that smoking allows for an adventurous and free life, conflicts with society’s expectations of women, suggesting this goal is unavailable for them.

Within the Indonesian culture, there appears to be a double standard whereby smoking is admitted to be haram for young women, yet is completely acceptable for young men. When asked about her person desires, Alya expressed a want to “be free” from the “oppressive Indonesian culture and religion” (2018). When speaking of her future, the young woman said she would rather enjoy her years as a young adult, exercise her freedom and as an independent person even if that means sacrificing parts of her religion. “I want to act for myself” she stated, but “I need to get a place in heaven… I might change when I get older” (2018).

References:

Fred C. Pampel 2006, Gobal Patterns and Determinants of Sex Differences in Smoking, viewed 19 December 2018, < https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0020715206070267>

The World Bank 2017, Smoking prevalence males (%of adults), viewed 19 December 2018, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.PRV.SMOK.MA

Quit Big Tobaco 2016, Big advertising, viewed 19 December 2018,< http://quitbigtobacco.org/big-advertising/&gt;

Interviewee: Alya Nadira, 2018.

 

 

 

The ethical role designers have in any industry can have impacts that affect entire societies. This can be seen in the tobacco industry within Indonesia and the gambling industry within Australia. The way these products are marketed is designed, by a designer. This designer has taken on the role of creating an effective campaign to advertise a product that may not necessarily have ethical intentions.

The tobacco industry has an immense presence in Indonesia “[becoming] a ‘natural’ part of the Indonesian landscape” (Reynolds, C 1999). The cigarette packets in Indonesia have a range of different aesthetic styles to cater to different target audiences. This was discovered when talking to students from ITS University who reported that some tobacco companies market their products towards teenagers with brightly coloured packaging and flavoured cigarettes, a big offender of this is Esse Cigarettes.

Additionally, advertising campaigns promote smoking addictions through personal image created through graphical design. Strong messages such as “Never Quit” by Surya communicate strong messages with clear intentions, it is at this point that we have to ask ourselves as designers; are we crossing ethical boundaries. –

While it is easy to criticise the Indonesian tobacco industry for its tobacco marketing campaigns, related issues exist all over the world, even in our home country Australia. During October 2018, advertising for The Everest Cup horse racing was projected onto one of Australia’s greatest landmarks. Huge protests were created to stop the illumination of the Opera House sails with gambling advertising. Prior to this, the sails had only been projected onto for special occasions. Australia already has a problem with gambling, and the promotion of gambling contributes to the ever-growing problem. “Australia shows that 63% to 82% of teenagers gamble each year” (Monaghan, C et al. 2008). Behind these advertisements there is a designer at work with the intentions of selling a potentially harmful product at the cost of others. There is a power behind design to influence behaviours and it is with responsibility that these skills should be used to good effect. The question is left, where should the line be drawn to where design can be applied to sell or market an industry? For the tobacco industry in Indonesia that powers a huge part of their economy, should this be allowed to continue to allow for jobs to flourish or should counter measures be taken to drastically reduce the numbers of child smokers? This is a decision that can only be made by the designer and their ethical responsibilities.

 

Reynolds, C, 1999, ‘Tobacco advertising in Indonesia: “the defining characteristics for success”’, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/8/1/85.full&gt;

Monaghan, S., Derevensky, J., Sklar, A, 2008, ‘Impact of gambling advertisements and marketing on children and adolescents: Policy recommendations to minimise harm’, viewed 21 December 2018, <http://jgi.camh.net/index.php/jgi/article/view/3802/3808&gt;

Image 1: Alex Lee, KT&G’s overseas sales hit all-time high, viewed 21 December 2018, <http://m.theinvestor.co.kr/view.php?ud=20170120000753&gt;

Image 2: Anton Jøsef, Gudang Garam | Surya Pro, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://www.jasminesubrata.com/suryapro/&gt;

Designers have the ability to both contribute positively or negatively to a community as long as society, culture and government permits. Everything tobacco related has had some form of influence from a designer; be it packaging, manufacturing, distribution and everything down to the cigarette itself. Indonesia’s case is no different, designers play a large role in the successes of tobacco, however, this is only possible due to tobaccos deeply ingrained economic, political and cultural roots in the country.

To be an ethical designer in Indonesia’s case is to understand these roots before attempting to design for these clients. The designer must understand the social and cultural differences without prejudice to create a system or product which would effectively suit the client and their needs.

Understanding the tobacco epidemic in Indonesia means to delve deeper than surface level information like habits and social aspects of smoking, but into the more political and economically involved areas of it. For example, to eradicate tobacco and tobacco use in the country would be devastating to the workers of the industry. A Sampoerna employee claimed that working 4 days a week at a cigarette rolling factory would be enough for the worker to put their child through school and university. Meanwhile, the government also aims to raise import duties for tobacco, which “aims at enhancing the welfare of Indonesian tobacco farmers as chances grow that their output will be absorbed domestically at higher prices”. (Indonesia-Investment 2018), Government involvement and revenue associated with the tobacco industry in Indonesia is just one aspect that a designer must consider before attempting to design ethically.

Figure 1 shows of a pack Marlboro cigarettes. With minimal graphic warnings, the bright red packaging and embossed branding is designed to appeal to a variety of audiences. The brand is known for having associations to masculinity, especially in its initial stages where the Marlboro commercials featured a strong and empowering “Marlboro cowboy man”.

Tobacco in Australia however, although still somewhat prominent, has government involvement in the opposing direction and has a more tobacco prevention intent. Since 1990, prevention methods enforced by the government alongside not-for-profit organisiations have seen large a reduction in smoking. One tobacco control method which has had influence from a designer is the graphic warnings applied to a plain packaging on tobacco products implemented in 2006. (The Department of Health 2018) Unlike the colourful and often misleading packaging and advertisements present in Indonesia, a designer would have been an agent for change in developing plain packaging to make cigarettes less appealing to the Australian populous.

References

Indonesia-Investment 2018, Cigarette & Tobacco Industry Indonesia: Rising Pressures in 2018?, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://www.indonesia-investments.com/news/todays-headlines/cigarette-tobacco-industry-indonesia-rising-pressures-in-2018/item8471>

The Department of Health 2018, Smoking Prevalence Rates, viewed 21 December 2018, < http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/tobacco-control-toc~smoking-rates>

Figure 1

Chen, J. 2018, Marlboro Cigarette Packaging

Indonesia is one of the five topmost producers and exporters of cigarettes in the world  (WHO, 2012). It is also the fourth-largest cigarette consuming country. So in what ways have they attempted to enforce anti-smoking measures and how effective have these measures been? How have they actually influenced the smoking epidemic in Indonesia.

I interviewed my cousin, Andrew, 32, who has been smoking for the past 17 years. Initially influenced by friends at the young age of 12, he did not like the initial effects it gave him, such as coughing and dizziness. It was at 15 when the addiction started, it was seen as cool and he dangerously thought he could quit at anytime if he wanted to, and shortly learnt that wasn’t the case. Children and teenagers learn about the health effects of smoking in school, however with so many people in their daily environments smoking, it makes them curious and difficult to take the issue seriously. In Indonesia, 51.3% (14.6 million) adults are exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace and 78.4% (133.3 million) are exposed to tobacco smoke at home (WHO, 2012).

I wanted to investigate the effectiveness of anti-smoking measures that have been made in Indonesia and what people think would actually be effective. Andrew mentioned that the change of plain packaging to graphic images was more of a nuisance than effective. When he first saw the graphic images it did make him think of wanting to quit but instead he would just look for a packet that was plain instead. This reveals that graphic packaging may inform people of the extreme effects of smoking but doesn’t necessarily make them want to quit.

When smoking in public places such as malls were banned, he did smoke less, but it didn’t stop him completely. Even with new laws people tend to ignore the consequences because they know that no-one will truly enforce it upon them, and if they do they will move on to another place where it is allowed. Anti-smoking measures are not likely to move forward in Indonesia until the government strengthens existing laws and develops protocols for enforcing these laws. (Aditama, 2008)

Rather than quitting, Andrew has started smoking a ‘lighter’ brand, Esse, that promotes with descriptive deceptors that since it is ‘light’ it is not as bad as normal cigarettes.  In Indonesia, the labelling restriction has actually reduced the proportion of smokers who agree that ‘light cigarettes are less harmful’ (Henriksen, 2012). Indonesia is still a long way away from solving the tobacco epidemic and should strongly consider work with the World Health Organisation framework on Tobacco Control.

 

References:

• World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia. (‎2012)‎. Global adult tobacco survey: Indonesia report 2011. WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia. 2012. http://www.who.int/iris/handle/10665/205137
• Wilson, L, et al. “Impact of Tobacco Control Interventions on Smoking Initiation, Cessation, and Prevalence: A Systematic Review,” Journal of Environmental and Public Health, vol. 2012, Article ID 961724, 36 pages, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/961724.
• Aditama, T, et al. Linking Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) Data to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: The Case for Indonesia, Volume 47, Supplement 1, September 2008, Pages S11-S14
• Henriksen L, Comprehensive tobacco marketing restrictions: promotion, packaging, price and place, Tobacco Control 2012; 21:147-153.

 

While in Surabaya we interviewed and spoke to many people, from students to drivers, gathering a range of perspectives to better understand the issue from the ground. These interviews revealed the various nuances that surround the issue. Riyadh, a retail employee working in a high-end chocolate delicatessen, is one of these people that reflected a different attitude to most of the students and individuals I met in Surabaya. Riyadh recently moved from South Sumatra to find work to support himself and family. South Sumatra is known for the low-income levels and the high unemployment rate, with many farming areas within the region (Lisanty & Tokuda 2015). Riyadh says his parents own/run a farm and also a separate local warung nearby. Research into farming in regional Indonesia reveals that the average household total income, from off-farm and on-farm (other than paddy farming), was IDR 3,569,635 a year, which is a daily income of less than $1 (AUD) a day (Suryahadi & Hadiwidjaja 2011). He notes that he was more well off compared to others in the region as he was able to attend school and they had a moderate house closer to the town area. Riyadh says that it is because of his education that he was able to move to Surabaya and have a job, although stating it has been difficult, as he didn’t have a job for a long period of time.

Riyadh’s experiences challenged my preconceived ideas about smoking levels in rural Indonesia. He notes that although many farmers and people in his area choose to smoke, his family does not. His father has always been strict on this and his reasoning for forbidding it upon him was very closely tied to the cost of smoking, and his father always refused the ‘smoking lifestyle’ as he deemed it as ‘unaffordable and unnecessary use of money’.

Studies reveal that on average 72.9% of rural families in Indonesia smoke, with paternal smoking associated with greater household food insecurity (Semba et al. 2011). Riyadh’s father’s choice not to smoke is something that he regards his father highly for, as he is aware of the positive impacts it has had on his life. He reflects on how some of his friends back in South Sumatra, are still living a low quality of life and how he sees himself as fortunate to be able to afford to live in Surabaya. Riyadh reflects hope for the youth of Indonesia, being understanding of the negative impacts of tobacco and unafraid of being called ‘less of a man’ due to his choice not to smoke, ‘I don’t believe in those things. It doesn’t make sense to me that [a] cigarette means you are one thing or not’. Riyadh is one of the few people who I’ve met in Indonesia who is actively aware of the manipulative tactics of tobacco companies, which I think is reflective of the values he was brought up with. He believes that there is more opportunity in the city of Surabaya for him, although being unsure about where he will do next after his retail job.

Reference List:

Lisanty, N., & Tokuda, H. (2015). Comprehending Poverty in Rural Indonesia: An In-depth Look inside Paddy Farmer Household in Marginal Land Area of Banyuasin District, South Sumatra Province. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 3(3), 129-137.

Semba, R.D., M.D., Campbell, A.A., B.S.1, Sun, K., M.S., de Pee, S., PhD, Akhter, N., M.S., Moench-Pfanner, R., Rah, J.H., PhD., Badham, J., M.Sc, Kraemer, K., PhD. & Bloem, M.W., M.D. 2011, “Paternal smoking is associated with greater food insecurity among poor families in rural Indonesia”, Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 618-23.

Suryahadi, A., & Hadiwidjaja, G. (2011). The role of agriculture in poverty reduction in Indonesia. Jakarta: SMERU Research Institute.

According to statistics provided by the World Health Organisation on the Indonesia tobacco epidemic, 11.5% of youth under the age of 18 smoke, with female youth smoking more than adult females at 2.4% to 2.1% respectively. (World Health Organisation 2017) With rampant advertising, unfiltered and unenforced tobacco laws along with little effective education on tobacco use; the prevalence of child smokers and smokers in general undoubtedly has the potential to rise. To gain a further insight into the epidemic I interviewed 20-year-old university student Satya D on the impact smoking has had on both his childhood and young adulthood.

A project funded by The Australian-Indonesia centre outlined the impact that cigarette advertising, availability and pricing has potentially influenced smoking in youth. The team that participated in the project found that there was a density of 32.2 cigarette retailers per square kilometres, all but 12 of 379 schools had at least one cigarette retailer within 250m of each school and 989 out of 1000 retailers had indoor cigarette advertisements. (Australian-Indonesia Centre 2018)

Figure 1: A cigarette advertisement in the Rainbow Village in Malang positioned in a shopfront near kids playing.

“I’m not sure but I think I started in the middle of highschool, so I was maybe 16 years old .”

With the accumulated statistic alone, without even considering the multitude of contributing factors such as the prevalence of smoking around schools or the influence of peers is enough to enable us to see the extent at which young children and teens are exposed to smoking. Satya began smoking at the early age of 16, but sadly this isn’t uncommon, nor is it an extreme with a fifth of children between the age of 13 and 15 reported smoking. (Tobacco Atlas 2014)

“I started smoking because of my friends and maybe my environment, my father was a smoker too. Of course it has impacted my life; I know the negative effects of it buy it helps me relieve some stress of college life.”

Alongside advertising, another heavy contributing factor to young smokers in Indonesia is the wide influence that tobacco companies have over youth related activities. Satya mentioned how his environment may have impacted his life, and explained the role in tobacco companies sponsoring and supporting youth events; like sport scholarships provided by tobacco companies and even music festivals supported by these companies who provide a free pack of cigarettes which is covered in the music festival ticket fee.

References

World Health Organisation 2017, Who report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2017, Indonesia, viewed 20 December 2018, <https://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/policy/country_profile/idn.pdf&gt;

Australian-Indonesia Centre 2018, Keeping Cigarettes Out of Small Hands, viewed 20 December 2018, <https://health.australiaindonesiacentre.org/keeping-cigarettes-out-of-small-hands-in-bali/&gt;

Tobacco Atlas 2014, Global Youth Tobacco Survey Indonesia Report 2014, viewed 20 December 2018, <http://www.searo.who.int/tobacco/documents/ino_gyts_report_2014.pdf&gt;

Images

Figure 1:

Chen, J. 2018, Cigarette Advertisement, Malang

 

Over the past two weeks, we explored deep into Surabaya investigating the smoking culture & the power of the wicked tobacco industry taking 21.37% of life every year to tobacco related disease. Whilst in this bustling city full of diverse culture & character, we couldn’t help but notice the sheer amount of large, over saturated advertising with the consistent culprit being that of the vast array of tobacco companies. 

Shocked by the utter amount of advertising & how this is still allowed we couldn’t believe our eyes, as by Australian advertising standards this is a commodity of the past. Boasting of our governments strict action & steps towards a healthier smoke free future we soon realised that this advertising phenomenon seemed vaguely similar to the Australian beverage industry advertising & how we dismissed tobacco advertising & replaced it with more beer ads. Creating a false image, narrative or future of the users, it all seemed too similar to the classic VB, Corona, Pure Blonde & Carlton Draught ads that we all watched on tv as a teen that still sticks with us today. 

Whilst smoking in Indonesia still holds 76.2% of the population as daily smokers, Australia has been dwindling since the anti-tobacco intervention began in 1993 with the population now sitting at only 14.7% being daily tobacco users. Whilst there is this stark difference in these smoking stats, a counter statistic is that in 2010 it was recorded that 2.6% of Indonesians are drinkers, whilst in Australia 63.0% of the population are drinkers. This stark differences are mostly due to the concentration of Muslim culture in Indonesia, but also due to the prominence of Australian drinking culture & the social norms & implications of drinking in Australia. 

It’s well known around the world that Australians love a drink, even in the past month which I spent in Indonesia, when the topic of alcohol came up whilst talking to fellow travellers & locals the term ‘f*cking aussies’ came up in relation to our drinking habits & the way we act whilst under the influence. This idea & prominence of our drinking culture is mirrored in the excessive & almost comical beverage industries advertising much compared to the Indonesian tobacco advertising which is highly saturated & creates a narrative that can be achieved by its users. 

Whilst we can draw similarities between the Indonesian tobacco industry & the Australian beverage industry, one stark difference is how these habits users can obtain said product. Whilst as we saw in Indonesia, the control over the sale tobacco products is hardly restricted as cigarettes are available from small family run business & also can be sold by the cigarette for younger children. Whilst these sales are rather blasé, Australia is rather strict about the sale of alcohol with most bottle shops asking for ID at the entrance or at the point of sale. I believe for Indonesia to progress towards a more smoke free future a small but significant step towards less youth taking up smoking would be to monitor the sale of cigarettes to only reputable businesses & have the age limit be enforced. 

Tobacco Atlas, 2018, Indonesia, American Cancer Society, Inc. and Vital Strategies, viewed 21st December 2018, <https://tobaccoatlas.org/country/indonesia/&gt;>.

Department of Health, 2018, Smoking prevalence rates, Commonwealth of Australia, viewed 21st December 2018, <http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/tobacco-control-toc~smoking-rates>.

Drink wise, 2018, Australian Drinking Habits 2007 vs. 2017, Drink Wise Australia, viewed 21st December 2018, <https://drinkwise.org.au/our-work/australian-drinking-habits-2007-vs-2017/#>.

World Health, 2013, Indonesia Drinking, viewed 21st December 2018, <https://drinkingage.procon.org/sourcefiles/indonesia-drinking-age.pdf>.

Corona Extra Australia, 2013, Sunset Bar, Video Recording, Youtube, viewed 21st December 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlxB9RwWJfs&gt;

Primary research conducted throughout the studio was done primarily with students from ITS and UNAIR university.
These students identified as: Niluh (21), Achmad (20), Intan (21), Ida (21), Ica (21), Dea (21), Sat (20), Nyssa (20), Nat (20).

Within these interviews, the discussion of cultural practices surrounding gender and youth smoking brought forward unexpected insights. The smoking culture within the youth community shows disparities between genders changing their behaviours and practices.

The following results from the interviews were conducted with both men and women.

Despite the early educational warnings surrounding smoking, “around the time of elementary school”, youth continue to smoke. UNAIR students reported that they learnt about the risks between the ages of 6 and 8. “These lessons are learnt in school in science”, showing that for youth in their teenage years (Martini, S et al. 2005) are beginning to smoke.

The particular views the Indonesian people have on women smoking, including the youth population, have misogynistic overtones which can leave them with a bad reputation and personal image. This was discovered when talking to ITS students over the course of the studio and has been reiterated by Nawai Ng et al (Ng, N et al. 2006). Reasons for this stated by the ITS students, related to women smoking, are that women who smoke are bad influences and can be judge or assumed to be a prostitute. Gestures such as offering a cigarette or placing a light in a certain position can be an indication of an offering of one’s body. In the paper ‘If I don’t smoke, I’m not a real man’, it is stated that “it is inappropriate and not well mannered for women to smoke. ‘Only prostitutes smoke’ (Ng, N et al. 2006). But it is very appropriate for men to smoke”. Because of these views, some women feel the need to rebel against societal views and smoke to prove a point. This in itself is problematic as it is seeing an increased number of young women smoking, according to ITS students.

Contrastingly in a masculine world smoking is seen and advertised as a manly trait. With self-image being a greatly important part of a growing man’s life, this can cripple their confidence if they are isolated for being a non-smoker. With Indonesia’s youth population being more than a third of its entire population (The Conversation, 2018), the rate of young male smoker’s is growing rapidly.

It shows with the existing factors and the heavy burden the growing youth population has to manage such as their economy, the importance and urgency to resolve the tobacco dependency is rising.

 

Ng, N., Weinehall, L., Öhman, A. 2006, ‘If I don’t smoke, I’m not a real man’ – Indonesian teenage boys’ views about smoking, viewed 19 December 2018, <https://academic.oup.com/her/article/22/6/794/640787&gt;

 

Martini, S., Sulistyowati, M. 2005, The Determinants of Smoking Behaviour among Teenages in East Java Province, Indonesia, viewed 19 December 2018, <https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/13781/347660IND0YouthSmoking0HNP0Tobacco032.pdf;sequence=1&gt;
The Conversation, Protecting young Indonesian hearts from tobacco, 7 June 2018, viewed 19 December 2018, <https://theconversation.com/protecting-young-indonesian-hearts-from-tobacco-97554?fbclid=IwAR3HLOHuoKnH0fd3BrpyZIktJkhwVWbTiLKsj_-aTF3rt8Gxt0lOIr88jqk&gt;

Image: Youth Smoking: an un-natural disaster, viewed 19 December 2018, <http://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/how-do-we-make-smoking-uncool/&gt;