During my visit to Jogja, I had crossed paths with youths at the local events I had attended. Having already known that Indonesia is recognised as the fastest growing cigarette consumer worldwide (Joy de Beyer and Ayda A. Yurekli, 2000), I was interested in the hierarchal value that tobacco had within these environments. I decided to follow up on two individuals whom I had met at these events after to gain a more in-depth understanding of how smoking is affecting youths behind these culture as a whole.

The first individual, is 20-year-old Zulfian. Zulfian has been smoking since high school which started at the first punk show he had attended and blamed both the high prevalence of smoking at these shows and also the social stigma that smoking is associated with amongst men. He considers himself a regretful smoker as he is aware of the dangers of smoking and thus, hopes for a future where tobacco is more considered in education. Although Zulfian is amongst the 70.5% of men who are current smokers (WHO, 2017), he does not completely blame punk for his tobacco consumerism but wishes there were other alternatives other than smoking when attending these shows.

My other candidate Za however, is a member of a sculpture making society that do not condone smoking at their events. Being a foreign student from Portugal, she was aware of the Indonesian tobacco industry prior to her move. Initially, this did not phase her as she was originally a social smoker but her views on smoking shifted after joining the sculpture society through her Jogja university. Before her involvement within the society, Z stated that she continued to smoke socially despite fellow classmates advising her that female smokers are frowned upon in Indonesian society. This is no surprise as a study in 2007 showed that only as little as 3% of women smoked (Mimi Nitchter, 2007). The events organised by her society promotes sustainability through showcasing works made from organic and natural resources. She felt the need to quit as a whole because smoking did not align with her society’s motif for advocating a greener society as it causes pollution.

Ultimately, although the relationship that tobacco has within these two groups differ, I understand that this could be bias perspectives as these opinions derive from two minority sub cultures in which are highly niche.

Joy de Beyer, Ayda A. Yurekli, 2006, ‘Curbing the Tobacco Epidemic in
Indonesia’, viewed 20 December 2019, <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.552.952&rep=rep1&type=pdf>.

Mimi Nichter, S Padmawati, M Danardono, N Ng, Y Prabandari, Mark Nichter, 2009, tobaccocontrol, viewed 19 December 2019, <https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/18/2/98.short>.

Nawi Ng, L. Weinehall, A. Öhman, 2007, ‘‘If I don’t smoke, I’m not a real man’—Indonesian teenage boys’ views about smoking ‘ pages 794-804, academic, viewed 19 December 2019, <https://academic.oup.com/her/article/22/6/794/640787>.

World health organisation, 2019, ‘‘WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2019 ‘, WHO, viewed 19 December 2019, <https://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/policy/country_profile/idn.pdf>