Police in Jakarta have arrested suspected distributors of etomidate, a substance increasingly linked to illicit vape products, during operations in West Jakarta and Tangerang City. Authorities detained a 37-year-old woman, where officers seized 45 packages of etomidate, which is classified as a Schedule II narcotic under Indonesia’s 2025 reclassification rules. Officials say the arrests reflect growing concern over the circulation of etomidate in e-cigarettes across Jakarta and surrounding areas, with investigations ongoing into distribution networks operating in residential locations.
Tag: Indonesia
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Indonesia’s First Prosecution for Discarded Cigarette Butt
An Indonesian man was sentenced to six hours of community service and fined RM300 ($0.02) by the Sessions Court in Alor Star yesterday (January 26), after pleading guilty to discarding a cigarette butt in a public area, marking the first prosecution in Kedah under amended littering provisions of Malaysia’s Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007. The defendant, 39-year-old construction worker, admitted to the offence committed near Alor Star Tower shortly after midnight on January 1, where he was found disposing of the cigarette butt outside a designated bin. The amended law introduces mandatory community service for littering offences, allowing fines of up to RM2,000 ($0.12) and up to 12 hours of community service.
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Indonesia Looking to Tighten Tobacco Control
Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin outlined plans to strengthen national tobacco control through legislative reform, citing proposed revisions to expand graphic health warnings, tighten advertising restrictions, ban the sale of loose cigarettes, and regulate e-cigarettes. Speaking virtually at the 8th Asia-Pacific Cities Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT) Summit in Jakarta today (January 26), Sadikin said the measures are aimed at reducing both tobacco supply and demand through coordinated partnerships.
Sadikin said that tobacco is Indonesia’s third-largest risk factor for death, with around 70 million adult smokers and 9.1% of children having tried smoking. The government also plans to expand smoke-free areas and increase access to smoking cessation services at community health centers, while health officials emphasized cross-sector and community-based efforts to address tobacco use and related non-communicable diseases.
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Indonesian Cig Tax Plan Comes with Risk: Economist
Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is exploring the introduction of an additional excise tier for cigarettes, a move intended to provide a legal pathway for certain illegal tobacco products. While economists see potential fiscal benefits, including expanded tax revenue and improved enforcement legitimacy, experts caution that outcomes are not guaranteed. Imanina Eka Dalilah, a senior researcher at Universitas Brawijaya, said that if the new tier simply shifts consumption from higher-taxed legal products to lower-tax brackets, it could cannibalize revenue rather than expand the tax base. She added that law-abiding manufacturers could face new competition from previously illegal producers, creating a moral hazard if past compliance is effectively penalized by regulatory changes. According to Dalilah, the success of the policy hinges on careful design: it should be transitional, tightly regulated, and include safeguards to prevent consumption shifts and revenue erosion, ensuring that compliance is rewarded and illegal actors remain deterred. Without such measures, the excise tier risks becoming a short-term fix that could destabilize the legal tobacco market.
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IKT Announces New Distribution Structures for Asian Expansion
International Korea Tobacco (IKT) announced that it has launched aggressive expansion domestically as well as within Indonesia. In both markets, the company has established distribution structures through partnerships with state-owned enterprises, reflecting a high-barrier but strategically positioned market entry. IKT said it contributes more than 20 years of tobacco R&D and manufacturing experience with an annual capacity of 250 million packs.
In Indonesia, IKT has partnered with the local distributor Mir Six Global to launch the machine-made white cigarette (SPM) products Pointful Blue and Pointful Flow, initiating distribution through approximately 100 Bright Store outlets, the convenience store chain owned by Pertamina Retail, while simultaneously pursuing an expansion into nationwide minimarket chains. This collaboration is regarded as a tobacco distribution partnership aimed at positioning Indonesia as a strategic logistics hub within Southeast Asia, leveraging a Java-centered distribution structure to enhance logistics efficiency and scalability.
Domestically, IKT signed a distribution agreement with the Korea Supermarket Cooperative Federation, an affiliate of the Korea Federation of SMEs, to supply Pointful Korea cigarettes across South Korea’s small supermarket and convenience store network. The rollout will distribute the brand to more than 50,000 retail outlets nationwide, aiming to revitalize local retail channels and create new profit opportunities for small businesses.
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Indonesia Considers Special Tax for Illegal Cigarettes
Indonesia’s government proposed introducing a special excise tariff for illegal cigarettes as a way to curb illicit trade and boost state revenue, but the plan has sparked concern among industry players over potential market distortions and policy uncertainty. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said details are still being finalized, explaining the measure would mainly target small-scale local cigarette producers, while foreign illicit products would continue to face strict enforcement. He estimated that formalizing illegal production could generate trillions of rupiah in additional revenue, though discussions on fiscal impacts are ongoing and will require approval from the House of Representatives, a process that could take time, according to The Jakarta Post.
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Indonesia Busts Lab Filling Vapes with Narcotics
Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency (BNN) detained two Malaysian men suspected of producing e-cigarette liquids containing etomidate, an intravenous anesthetic drug, at an apartment in South Jakarta. The arrests were made after investigators identified the location as an illegal laboratory used to process the drug for use in vape products.
BNN Director General of Enforcement Aldrin Hutabarat said intelligence showed one suspect entered Jakarta carrying around 3,000 empty vape cartridges before heading to the apartment. During the raid, authorities found the two men actively mixing etomidate liquid for filling into cartridges and seized the drug, vape components, cash, and mobile phones. One suspect reportedly admitted being paid Rp 6.4 million ($377) to travel to Indonesia.
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Indonesia Hopes Simplifying Excises Will Reduce Illicits
Indonesia is preparing to introduce an additional cigarette excise tax layer in 2026 as part of efforts to curb illegal tobacco and draw illicit producers into the formal market. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the proposal is still under discussion but could be confirmed soon, with regulations potentially issued next week. The move is intended to complement the gradual simplification of the cigarette excise (CHT) structure, which has been reduced from 19 tiers in 2009 to eight under the current framework, while pairing incentives with stricter enforcement for non-compliance.
Authorities underscored the scale of the illicit trade challenge, noting that Customs and Excise has seized around 1.4 billion illegal cigarettes through more than 20,000 enforcement actions since the beginning of 2025, including a recent seizure of 160 million cigarettes from a warehouse in Pekanbaru, Riau. In value terms, illegal cigarette seizures reached Rp9.8 trillion ($564 million) in 2025, up 2.1% year on year, highlighting the government’s intensified crackdown alongside planned excise reforms.
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Indonesia Sounds Alarm on Drug-Laced Vapes
On December 16, Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency (BNN) warned of the growing circulation of drug-laced vape cartridges containing the anesthetic etomidate, following a major seizure at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Authorities intercepted 8,500 illicit vape refill cartridges smuggled through air cargo routes on November 12 and arrested a distributor in a joint operation by BNN and the National Police.
BNN said etomidate, now classified as a Schedule II narcotic, poses serious health risks when inhaled through vaping due to the lack of dosage control. Officials warned that repeated use can lead to dependency. BNN cited national data showing 1.73% of Indonesia’s population (about 3.3 million people) have been exposed to drugs, and claimed that the country’s estimated 70 million smokers increase vulnerability to drug-laced vape products.
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New Indonesian Factory Fuels KT&G’s Expansion
KT&G told Hankooki.com today (November 12) that its Indonesian factory is scheduled to be completed within the month and should begin full-scale operations in February 2026. The 190,000-square-meter facility, which will produce cigarettes and capsule products for export across Southeast Asia and beyond, is expected to boost KT&G’s annual production capacity in Indonesia to 35 billion cigarettes, making it the company’s largest overseas manufacturing base.
The move follows the launch of KT&G’s Kazakhstan plant in April, which can produce 4.5 billion cigarettes annually and serves as a key export hub for the Eurasian market. With both sites operational, KT&G aims to produce over half of its total output overseas in the medium to long term, improving global supply efficiency.
The company also plans to expand into new markets like Jordan and Bangladesh, while growing its next-generation product (NGP) segment and nicotine pouch business through a strategic partnership and joint acquisition with Altria.