The special region of Yogyakarta is the home of Javanese fine art and culture with significant cultural and education centres. The advertising environment is described as “advertiser’s paradise”. (Nichter M, Padmawati S, Danardono M 2009). On our recent visit to Yogyakarta, it is relevant that they are proud local artists who fill the streets with beautifully handcrafted arts and street art.
Tobacco advertising is a significant component in Yogyakarta, with a vast majority of advertising on banners, shop fronts, bus shelters, newspapers and Billboards. The tobacco companies are heavily involved with celebrations and events such as culture, sporting and music events with major international artists such as Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson. In 2008 Alicia Keys had responded to an antismoking group who pulled her out. Key’s said she was unaware of the tobacco endorsements and was unappreciative of it. “I am an unyielding advocate for the well-being of children around the world and do not condone or endorse smoking”. (Gina S 2008) Which was the ordered to be taken down, and all A Mild cigarettes advertisement on promotions to be removed.
Although in 2012, the Indonesian government adopted a tobacco control regulation which has limitations in advertising. (The conversation 2018) Most design activists in Indonesia are dealing with issues because of little awareness and understanding with the help of education awareness and health programs factors within the fields of art and design these issues could be achievable.
On our recent visit speaking with Novaldy, he had assured us that trying to control tobacco is merely impossible in this country. Novaldy says “The best way to get through to people is not to tell them that tobacco isn’t good and is unhealthy. Because they will resist and a revolution will start again” The best source of outcome would be to try and find new solutions and ways in tobacco usages as it is one of the country’s most significant fields of growth. Smoking isn’t a habit; it is a cultural trend.
There are alternative ways to use tobacco, working along side designers, scientist, and eco-design business creating alternative products such as clothing and natural dyes can be designed and created. Tyton Bieoenregy form North Carolina has been working on with tobacco as a source for biofuel and oil. Tyton says they have now figured out ways to use as jet fuel! (Dan Nosowits 2016) The plant is also inexpensive to grow and can be harvest up to three times a year with significant growth rates. Tobacco remains the largest non-food crop on Earth as more countries are kicking the cigarette habits and embracing healthier lifestyles and alternatives tobacco could reaffirm the leafy plant’s cash crop status in the future. (Emily Demarest 2015)
In my recent trip to Yogykarta I meet Luqman who works near the Green host hotel as a becak driver, 42-year male living in Yogyakarta. He Learnt English just from talking to clients and visitors. He moved to yoga when he was 15 to work and have money. He also works with an Australian company in Melbourne which imports Indonesian’s handcrafted materials.
Luqman had he’s first cigarette with his father, who smoked half a pack of cigarettes a day, he started smoking when at 14years old. He enjoyed the ‘relaxing and stress-free effects from smoking but one day he just decided to quit because it was ‘boring’. Five years ago Luqman had decided to quit, “I Didn’t like smoking, I only smoke because my friends smoke, but that is why I stopped”. In the Javanese’s culture It is quite common to start smoking from a young age, It is estimated around one million children smoke under the age of 16. (ABC 2011) “When you are younger, everyone smokes, we will hide in the bathrooms at school and smoke with all our friends.” Luqman has also convinced he’s friends who now have quit smoking for 4years. “I gave him the inspiration, and now they have stopped”. Luqman is quite healthy, with no asthma and felt a lot healthier after he quit smoking.
In Yogyakarta it’s different, the people are open minded.
In Yogyakarta the only places you can’t smoke are shopping malls, healthcare facilities and public transport. (Tobacco control laws 2019), smoking in the streets seems to be no problem. Smoking while driving can cause many accidents because the ash can go into people’s eyes, pYLKI chairman Tulus Abadi said that at least 30,000 motorists die each year due to human error. (The Jakarta Post 2018)
Luqman says”I think at this moment the rules aren’t working, but I hope one day the rules will work” In Australia, there are set rules in place to make sure people are safe. The regulations in Australia work, but here we have a vast population 388,627 people in Yogyakarta alone (UN data 2019) One police must take care of 125 thousand people in one area. “It is not possible for one person to do everything.”
Welcome to 2040. We are Studio Serai and we have collaborated with the Muhammadiya Tobacco Control Centre over the past 20 years to realize a future which will improve the collective life of U.M.Y. staff and students.
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta flyers reveal the design of the 2040 campus.
Brief Context:
As one of Indonesia’s largest industries, tobacco production and consumption has become a core element of Indonesian culture, with its impact stretching from national policy to the habits and lives of individual citizens. However, in 2040 despite remaining prevalent, significant progress has been made to curb the issue. This is in no small part due to the ratification of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2025 which signalled a vital cultural and legislative shift towards increased attention to the Tobacco crisis and its ill-effects. Since this point, the government has worked to redirect increased taxation from the industry and excise taxes back to anti-tobacco initiatives and grants. This has been particularly important in support of public spaces and design campaigns that previously lacked appropriate funding to address the underlying issues of the tobacco crisis in a comprehensive manner.
Philosophy/reasoning:
As a proud tobacco-free university, U.M.Y. not only provides world-class education facilities. It also caters to its students’ well-being and mental health by addressing the inevitable stresses of university life, through a supportive and modern campus.
Using a settings-based approach, in collaboration with M.T.C.C. we have improved the social context of the students, space where they engage in daily activities and where the environmental, organizational and personal factors interact to affect their health and well-being. This promotes the health of the students in a holistic manner – rather than merely reprimanding them for smoking – it reduces the anxiety and pressure felt by those trying to quit.
Elements of the design:
The desire to smoke is often caused by triggers relating to intense emotion. These emotions can include stress, anxiety, boredom and loneliness. Alternative social activities on campus have been implemented in order to avoid and resolve these feelings, eliminating common smoking triggers while simultaneously improving the mental health and well-being of the students.
As of 2032, gardening and bamboo design have become electives at U.M.Y. With the help of student volunteers, we have designed and planted vertical gardens and green landscapes across the campus. This was conceived in accordance with the notion of Forest bathing, or ‘shinrin yoku’ in Japanese, an activity where people go out into nature and use their senses to connect with the environment. ‘Earthing’ or ‘grounding’ is another technique that is used for relaxation where people take off their shoes to connect with the earth. The body becomes a sponge that soaks up negatively-charged electrons and affects health in a positive way while reducing stress.
We have chosen bamboo to restructure social spaces at the university. Drawing inspiration from the work of Singgih Kartono and Spedagi, U.M.Y. utilizes bamboo throughout its new facilities and spaces in order to rebrand the material as a modern, luxurious item while still staying true to its traditional function and practicality in Indonesian culture. Bamboo is utilized in several ways such as the ‘bambingpong’ tables, bamboo fibre shade structures, garden structures, and the gazebo-esque relaxation areas.
These objects and other physical activity zones such as exercise areas have also been implemented throughout the campus in order to curb the social triggers associated with smoking, by providing a physical and social distraction that allows the brain to release endorphins to improve the student’s mood. This method has proven effective in numerous studies which have concluded that physical activity aids abstinence, mood and self-efficacy in relation to tobacco addiction.
Map of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta campus vision spaces in 2040.
Therapy for Students and Teachers:
Last month, 200 students at U.M.Y. underwent a mental and physical health check. This check found that 32 out of those 200 students experience a form of anxiety, which includes other mental illnesses that were not identified. Sufferers from mental illnesses are more susceptible to drug use and addiction. This includes tobacco use which temporarily relaxes individuals and provides a sense of relief. This can be addictive and become a substitute for healthier stress relief alternatives.
Now in 2040 we have these alternatives available for students at U.M.Y. decentralized throughout the campus. These include indoor and outdoor V.R. meditation rooms, healthcare services, including therapy services and quit hubs. These zones have been created to equip students with skills that will help them cope with future stress in a healthy way outside of the university environment.
The therapy and quit hub services were put in place to complement each other while being spread throughout the campus. A therapy service is a place for students to go to when they feel anxious, or even just when they feel as though they need someone to listen. Quit Hubs are more specific in their role of targeting tobacco users. When a tutor sees a student or staff member smoking, instead of taking away their student I.D. or fining the staff as what has previously been done, there are now two services that creates a coherent way in which students and staff are able to get help with their addiction, anxiety and other mental health issues.
In our timeline, we have chosen to use Australian statistics as a parallel to Indonesia’s progression, as Australia is considered to be a leader in tobacco control. In the 1970s, Australian anti-smoking movements such as BUGA UP and MOP UP began to influence public opinion. MOP UP started as an advocacy grassroots group that lobbied upstream in order to change laws around tobacco use. BUGA UP formed as a splinter group of graffiti artists that used culture jamming to redesign billboard advertisements from the tobacco industry and transformed them into new opposing messages directed towards the Industry. Some strategies that promote healthier anti-tobacco lifestyles that are proven to work on a global scale include protecting people from second-hand smoke, encouraging people to quit smoking, and helping to denormalize tobacco in the community.
In 2003 Indonesia took its first steps towards educating consumers about the adverse effects of tobacco use by printing text warnings about tobacco use on cigarette packets. At the same time, the A.C.T. became a smoke-free territory.
In 2006 U.M.Y. became the first smoke-free university in Yogyakarta while Australia started the practice of printing graphic warnings on cigarette packets which then lead on to plain packaging in 2012.
In 2020 Indonesia’s progression towards tobacco control started to ramp up with considerable increases in taxes and cigarette pricing, while in 2021 U.M.Y. began implementing therapy and quitting assistance services.
In 2025 Indonesia signed onto the F.C.T.C. framework and from there began a snowball effect of restrictions upon tobacco use and the influence that the tobacco industry has over government and G.D.P. We began to redesign U.M.Y.’s campus in order to distract students from smoking in collaboration with M.T.C.C. in accordance with the newly implemented framework.
In 2026 U.M.Y. began running traditional gardening and bamboo design electives. They also introduced a mandatory module on the dangers of tobacco as well as the Industry’s influence which has to be completed by all staff and students every year.
In 2030 tobacco advertising was banned across all media, including television and radio advertising. As Indonesia reached the fourth largest G.D.P. in the world, the rising tobacco taxes revenue was redirected towards tobacco control in an initiative known as the (Kesehatan Universitas Grant).
This year in 2040 we have finalized the design of U.M.Y.’s well-being campus and it has been implemented with the financial assistance from the Grant.
V.R. (Virtual Reality) technology is introduced into meditation spaces. Interior and exterior design has been transformed to accommodate students seeking help and the hanging gardens and greenery planted by volunteer students is flourishing.
In our collaboration with M.T.C.C. we have designed a system that supports students within a network of activities and health facilities, to help them combat stress and teach them coping strategies to improve mental health. The decentralization of these facilities and meditation spaces allow staff and students across the campus to be involved and seek help while simultaneously tackling the tobacco crisis.
Timeline of tobacco control in Australia and Indonesia, 1940 – 2040 .
Timeline:
1945 – By not joining the WHO health legislation Health rights Indonesia believes everyone has the right to have physical and spiritual prosperity, they should enjoy and enjoyable life. (World health organization 2011)
Constitution states that every person shall have the right to live in physical and spiritual prosperity, to have a home and to enjoy a tasty and healthy environment, and shall have the right to obtain medical care. By this law, the Indonesian government should increase citizen’s health standard. (Dodik Setiawan Nur Heriyanto 2014)
1970 – Indonesia’s tax system was modified based on production volume and product type, with the highest tax rates corresponding to firms with the highest production.
1979 – B.U.G.A.U.P. was a sub movement of MOP UP (Movement Opposed to the Promotion of Unhealthy Products), a group which started in Australia to expose unhealthy behaviours promoted to the Australian public (Chapman 1996). MOP UP was a subverting group that regularly held meetings. In one meeting in 1976, two members of the audience encouraged others in the group to start graffitiing over tobacco advertisements on billboards (Chapman 1996). B.U.G.A.U.P. changed Australian attitude towards smoking and was the catalyst in redefining Australian smoking culture.
1990 – Excise taxes have been levied on tobacco products in Indonesia since the early (Barber S, Adioetomo SM, Ahsan A, Setyonaluri D 2008)
1987 – The Australian Federal Government bans smoking on domestic flights. (A.B.C. news 2014)
1990 – The Australian Federal Government bans tobacco advertising in magazines, newspapers.
1993 – Nicotine patches were introduced.
1996 – Billboards, outdoor and illuminated signs advertising cigarettes are banned.
1997 – National Tobacco Commercial (NTC) anti-tobacco campaign, which reduced %3.7 in 3 years (Australian Government department of health 2019)
1999 – M.C.G. goes smoke-free.
2000 – Australian Laws are removing sponsoring exemptions.
2003 – A.C.T. bans smoking in public spaces and all enclosed spaces.
2005 – Australia bans misleading terms such as mild and light when describing certain cigarettes.
2005 – U.M.Y. opened in Muhammadiyan Yogyakarta as the first smoke-free university in Yogyakarta.
2005 – World Health Organization Framework Convention was adopted. (Dodik Setiawan Nur Heriyanto 2014)
2006 – Australia has graphic warnings on packets.
2008 – An essential reason that governments intervene in the tobacco market is to generate tax revenue in Indonesian. Tobacco taxation forms a stable source of government revenue, contributing 5.7 per cent of Indonesia’s total government revenue in 2007 (Tobaccofreekids 2008)
2009 – In Indonesia The earmarking tax concept on cigarette tax is regulated in Law No. 28/ 2009
2009 – Students smoking in schools was 20.3% (World health organization 2011)
2009 – The earmarking tax concept on cigarette tax is regulated in Law No. 28/ 2009
2009 – Approximately 70% of the cigarette tax revenue deposited to the R.K.U.D. to West Java is deposited to the district or city. Then, at least 50% of the cigarette tax revenue must be allocated to fund public health services and law enforcement as stipulated in Law No. 8/2009 on Local Taxes and Local Levies. (Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik 2019)
2009 – Even though Indonesia has not ratified The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which is raising taxes on tobacco, it has become one of the instruments used to control cigarette consumption; Indonesia utilizes tax instruments to do so, among other states; levies in the form of excise.
2010 – Smoking inside pubs and clubs banned in every Australian state. Tobacco excise increased by 25 per cent.
2010 – No smoking in enclosed space in Jakarta, health care facilities, educational facilities, children’s play areas, places of worship, public transportation, workplaces, public places, and other specified places. (Southeast Asia tobacco control alliance 2019)
2011 – Australia’s first complete state or territory ban on point-of-sale tobacco product displays.
2012 – In Australia, it is an offence for any person to publish tobacco advertising on the internet or other electronic media.
The introduction of tobacco plain packaging and updated and expanded graphic health warnings. Reduction in the duty-free allowance from 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of cigars or tobacco products to 50 cigarettes or 50 grams of cigars or tobacco products.
2012 – Proposal of the non-smoking province in Yogyakarta, no clear status if the law was enacted. (Dodik Setiawan Nur Heriyanto 2014)
2013 – Australia’s first 12.5% tobacco excise increase on 1 December.
2003 – Indonesia had text warnings on packets of cigarettes. (Tobacco Labelling 2013)
2014 – First Australian smoke-free campus, Swinburne University of Technology
2014 – Change from bi-annual indexation based on the Consumer Price Index (C.P.I.) to bi-annual indexation based on average weekly ordinary time earnings (A.W.O.T.E.).
2014 – Australia to increase 12.5% excise on cigarettes by 1 September.
2014 – Indonesia had a graphic warning that needed to cover at least 40% of the packaging (Tobacco Labelling 2013)
2014 – Approximately 5.8 trillion cigarettes were consumed (Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik 2019)
2015 – Australia to increase 12.5% excise on cigarettes by 1 September.
2016 – The release of the Post Implementation Review of Tobacco Plain Packaging.
2016 – 12.5% excise increase will be implemented on 1 September.
2016 – Value Added Tax and Cigarette Tax. Excise and Value Added Tax are Central Taxes, while Cigarette Tax is Local Tax. With local tax collection, Indonesia has implemented the concept of earmarking tax on Cigarette Tax. According to McCleary, earmarking tax is a government policy utilizing budget for particular programs whose sources of income and expenditure are accurately determined. (Sitepu, 2016, p. 5)
2016 – Therefore, the basis for calculating cigarette tax is IDR 145,265,400,000,000 (98% of IDR 148,230,000,000,000). Thus, the estimated revenue from cigarette tax is 10% of IDR 145,265,400,000,000 (Public Relations of the Directorate General of Fiscal Balance. (Ministry of Finance, 2016)
2017 – Additional four annual 12.5% tobacco excise increases implemented on 1 September each year from 2017 to 2020 inclusive. – reduction in duty-free tobacco allowance, 25 grams of duty-free tobacco in Australia (cigarette, loose leaf etc), plus one open packet; equivalent to approximately 25 cigarettes. – harmonization of the taxation of roll-your-own tobacco and other products such as cigars, with manufactured cigarettes. (Australian Government department of health 2019)
2019 – Company’s H.M. Sampoerna and Gudang Garam raise ex-factory prices of G.G. Mild and Pro Mild by 3.3%. (Mirae Asset Sekuritas Indonesia 2019)
2020 – Indonesia’s Cigarette prices will be raised by 35% in January, and excise tax 23%. (Reuters 2019)
2020 – Indonesia government to make 172 trillion rupiah of revenue on tobacco excises. (World health organization 2018)
2020 – At U.M.Y. Health check collects data about students’ physical and mental well-being.
2021 – Indonesia implements more smoke-free places in Indonesia enclosed area and public spaces.
2022 – Indonesia implements more funds from tobacco taxes goes back into community and university.
2024 – U.M.Y. redesigns and refreshes their campus to distract students from smoking.
2025 – Indonesian’s tobacco Tax to increase by 12.5%
2025 – U.M.Y. Introduces compulsory anti-smoking campaign, similar to U.T.S. Respect Now Always program. (U.T.S. 2018)
2026 – Indonesian’s tobacco Tax to increase by 12.5%
2028 – More universities are smoke-free campus.
2029 – Indonesian’s first complete village or city to ban on point-of-sale tobacco product displays.
2035 – At U.M.Y., AR is introduced into spaces for meditation. The interior design transformed to be more accommodating for students seeking help. (Brochure stands, signs to therapy places, A.R. rooms)
2040 – Indonesia’s economy may grow around 5% each year becoming the world’s fourth-largest Gross Domestic Product in the world. (The Australian 2018)
Chapman, S. 1996, Civil disobedience and tobacco control: the case of BUGA UP. Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions, Tobacco Control, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 179-85.
World health organization 2018, Heart disease and stroke are the commonest ways by which tobacco kills people, viewed 12 December 2019, < http://www.searo.who.int/nts>
Hand crafted material’s from Yogyakarta, to help create sense of UMY Futuring spaces.
The five largest cigarette consuming nations are China, Indonesia, Russa, US and Japan. (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2018) Cigarettes manufactured in Indonesia are unique to the sales market being a blend of tobacco and cloves, made from a spice that makes a smooth blend and aroma of cigarette. The city called Bandung, Southwest of Java Indonesia, places second in the tobacco industry of “prevalence’s” of familiarity/acceptance in Southeast Asia.
Photo: BAT 2014
In the early ’90s, households were spending more money on tobacco then they were in household goods, such as food, clothing, footwear, most importantly, medical and education. In the early ’70s study shows that a population of 49% or males and %5 of females within the Java area show that smoking starts from – 15 years of a younger age, 50% of men doubled to 80% by the ’90s, the rates were likely to increase by another 63% due to the population of smokers being brought up within these areas of young smoking families. (CATHERINE REYNOLDS 1999)
The age standard is stating at 15years of age which is made up of 39.5% In 1985 a Jakarta study found that 49% of boys and 9% of girls aged 10–14 were daily smokers. World Health Organisation. While the legal minimum age for smoking in Indonesia is 18 years old, the industry remains mostly unregulated, particularly in more remote parts of the county. (ABC, Tasha Wibawa, 2019) Among these studies, it shows that smoking was inversely related to education. Those who had completed high school or college training were less likely to smoke.
About 80% of the world’s smokers live in low – middle-income countries. Tobacco in Indonesia’s government is the largest source of revenue it has not only fueled by affordability which plays a crucial role in its economy, In 2018 cigarettes brought 153 trillion rupiah, nearly 96% of the national excise total, Being 10% of the government’s revenue. (ABC, Tasha Wibawa, 2019)
The Indonesian political cycle has made it difficult to see the long-term effects and economic cost of cigarettes, instead it priorities the yearly economic gains, Mr Ahsan said.
The highest tax revenue is obtained in Bandung, West Java which is the highest smoking prevalence in Indonesia. While smoking is a leading cause of death in Indonesia, Tobacco consumption can kill more than 7 million people every year; at least 214,00 people die each year in Indonesia, approximately 19% male and &% Male.
Bandung, Wast Java
Unless effective tobacco control measures are implemented in low- and middle-income countries, the burden of tobacco-related death and disease in those countries will continue to increase (tobaccocontrol, 1995)
Indonesia has introduced a concept on cigarette tax called Earmarking Tax, and this can be a beneficial government tax where the revenue from a particular tax is kept separate from general revenue, Tobacco tax is one of the efforts to control tobacco use. (Robert Carling 2007) The study states it has a favourable impact taxes are used to control tobacco, health promotion and health-related activities. ( Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 2019)
Australia, Brazil, and other countries that have implemented the most advanced tobacco control laws globally are almost entirely offset by the increasing consumption in many countries with weaker tobacco control regulations. The Tobacco Atlas 2019, Drope J, Schluger N, Cahn Z, Drope J, Hamill S, Islami F, Liber A, Nargis N, Stoklosa M. 2018. The Tobacco Atlas. Atlanta: American Cancer Society and Vital Strategies https://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/consumption/
The study states 'to reduce worldwide smoking prevalence by 30 per cent in 2025, countries are exhorted to fully implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).' The World Health Organization's first public health treaty calls on countries to implement proven strategies to reduce tobacco use, including higher tobacco taxes, 100 per cent smoke-free laws, ample, graphic health warnings, and comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorships. (Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance 2016)
World Health Organisation. Tobacco or health: a global status report—Indonesia. Geneva: WHO, 1998.
Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politi, Volume 23, Issue 1, July 2019 (45-58), The Implementation of Earmarking Tax policy on Cigarette Tax in West Jave Province, Online article, Viewed online 27 November, https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/jsp/article/view/41485/pdf
The Tobacco Atlas 2019, Drope J, Schluger N, Cahn Z, Drope J, Hamill S, Islami F, Liber A, Nargis N, Stoklosa M. 2018. The Tobacco Atlas. Atlanta: American Cancer Society and Vital Strategies https://tobaccoatlas.org/topic/consumption/
Growing up on the beaches of Australia, one of our primary concerns was covering up from the sun. Consequently, my father worked as a surf lifesaver. Starting from a very young age, I was one of the first on the beach and one of the last ones off. Every morning I was ready with my boggy board and wet suit! Growing up in the water and sun every day takes some toll, as most of our European skins cells are not strong enough for the Australian UV radiation the most common cancer in Australia is known as melanoma, skin cancer.
One of the most successful health campaigns in Australia launched in 1981; Sid, a cheerful seagull, danced away, singing the jingle’ Slip, Slop, Slap!
‘Slip, Slop, Slap! Slip-on, a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat Slip, Slop, Slap! You can stop skin cancer – say: ‘Slip, Slop, Slap!’ (Cancer Council Victoria, 2019)
It was successful as it encouraged children to wear protective clothing when playing out in the sun and lead to other victorious sun-safe campaigns around Australia. These campaigns have created positive changes and attitudes over time with melanoma, skin cancer survival rates in young people fell 5% since the early 90s, 25% in the late ’90s and another 14% by 2010 with research leaders saying safety messages were having a positive effect.
“It has been one of the most successful cancer prevention campaigns” Young people exposed to safe sun messages and early detection programs since birth shows the improvements are broader the just adolescents and young adults in melanoma studies says research Prof Adele Green.
Conclusions: Educating children at an early age is essential. Case studies show that high levels of sunlight exposure during younger age periods have a strong determinant of melanoma risk. With increasing, awareness and education a significant rise of survival and early detection in skin cancers, Australia survival rates are generally gettering higher.
Indonesia Global Design Studio 