Indonesia

Indonesia has a population of 273.5 million people; as of 2020, 62.9 percent of the adult male population and 4.8 percent of the adult female population smoke cigarettes, 38.3 percent of the male youth population and 2.4 percent of the female youth population smoke tobacco products.¹ An estimated 246,359 people in Indonesia die each year from diseases caused by smoking.²

TPackSS worked with in-country collaborators to purchase tobacco products from three major cities in Indonesia. In 2013 and 2015, we purchased cigarettes and kreteks in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Semarang; while in 2022, we added nicotine pouches, heated tobacco products (HTP), and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) to the products we aimed to purchase from Jakarta, Surabaya, and Medan. We replaced Semarang with Medan because the latter had a larger population size and higher smoking prevalence.  Within each city, packs were collected from a sample of 12 economically and socially diverse neighborhoods. Data collectors purchased one of every unique pack available from vendors selected in each neighborhood. From November 12 to November 23, 2013, data collectors purchased 215 unique cigarette and kretek packs. Then from November 15 to November 27, 2015, data collectors purchased 253 unique cigarette and kretek packs. In the most recent data collection, from September 12 to September 24, 2022, data collectors purchased 314 unique cigarette and kretek packs, 12 unique HTP packs, 26 unique disposable e-cigarettes, 17 unique pre-filled pods, and 782 unique e-cigarette liquid packs.

The tobacco packaging and labeling requirements in effect at the time of data collection were used to assess each tobacco pack’s compliance with the requirements.  

Suggested Citation for Information on this Page: Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS). Indonesia: Project and Country Background. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://globaltobaccocontrol.org/tpackss/country/indonesia [Insert Last Updated Date].