Call for tobacco ad ban in Indonesia

A survey conducted by Indonesia’s National Commission on Child Protection (KPAI) has found that at least one in 10 of the country’s children decided to smoke after being exposed to tobacco advertisements, according to a story in The Jakarta Post.

The commission believes that tobacco advertisements should be banned.

The KPAI questioned 10,000 students aged between 13 and 15 in 10 provinces: Bali, Bandar Lampung, Central Sulawesi, East Java, Jakarta, North Sumatra, South Kalimantan, West Java, West Nusa Tenggara and West Sumatra.

The survey, conducted in April, found that 96 percent of the students said they received “extensive and rapid information about smoking” from advertisements.

Fifteen percent of those exposed to tobacco advertisements said they had decided to light up because of the advertisements.

Ninety percent of respondents said they knew about cigarettes from television, 50 percent from billboards, 38 percent from pamphlets displayed on cigarette kiosks and 5 percent from radio.

Some students said they tried smoking when attending music concerts or watching sports or even participating in educational events sponsored by tobacco companies.

“Cigarette ads are everywhere,” KPAI Chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said in announcing the results of the survey.