There are approximately 57 million smokers in Indonesia, among a population of 273 million people. Around 63% of men and 5% of women report smoking, equating to 34% of the population. The majority, 88% of Indonesian smokers, use clove-flavoured kreteks. Kretek manufacturers directly employ over 180,000 people in Indonesia and an additional 10 million indirectly. Indonesia is the fifth largest tobacco market in the world, and in 2008 over 165 billion cigarettes were sold in the country.
Major tobacco companies dominating the market in Indonesia according to the year of establishment include:
HM Sampoerna (Philip Morris International, 1913). Bentoel International Investama (British American Tobacco, 1930). Nojorono Tobacco International (1932). Djarum (1951). Gudang Garam (1958). Wismilak Inti Makmur (1962). Tri Sakti Purwosari Makmur (Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation, 1974). Indonesian Tobacco (1980).
The WHO has ranked Indonesia third in the world for total number of smokers.
Kretek cigarettes
Kretek is credited as an invention by Nitisemito of Kudus, an industrial town in Central Java. They emerged in the late 19th century in Java. The practice was to roll, by hand, a compound of tobacco, cloves and cocoa in a dry corn husk wrap, which gives a honeyed flavour. It was Nitisemito who introduced cigarette papers in place of corn husk; following this simple innovation, a Kretek manufacturing factory was opened in Sumatra. The first brand of cigarette produced in this factory, "Bal Tiga" (three balls), became very popular, and as result, the economy of Kudus prospered.
The inventor popularized his brand of cigarettes through a concerted media campaign, even establishing his own radio station for the purpose. He touted his habit of smoking kretek as the cure for his asthma. Intense competition (25 manufactures are now reported in the city and its suburbs) combined with poor management resulted in his eventual financial failure, when he died in 1953. Another brand is Gudang Garam, founded by Chinese Indonesian businessman Surya Wonowidjojo. It has the distinction of being the largest single employer in Indonesia.
Kretek is very popular in rural areas as this type of cigarette is cheap. Kretek is known to burn slowly, and also self-extinguish. Evidence seems to suggest oral lesions may be less common than with other cigarette types. Due to this effect, cigarette smoking has largely replaced betel chewing.
The term "Kretek" is onomatopoeic, referring to the crackling sound that is produced when such cigarettes are burnt and inhaled.
Kretek cigarettes contain high concentration of tar and nicotine, approximately four times that of the strongest Marlboros. Some countries (such as the United States) have banned marketing flavoured cigarettes (including kreteks), as these are often seen as more appealing to the youth. The other harmful effect mentioned is from the clove oil used in making Kretek. The clove oil or eugenol is harmful to the lungs. The Indonesian Health Department reported in 2000 that 200,000 people are affected by cancer every year but eugenols exact relation to smoking has not been evaluated. Due to the popularity of Kretek, 5% of the national revenue is from this source, next only to the revenue from oil. Indonesia also records the highest growth of cigarette industry in the world, accounting for 4% of the world consumption.
While cigarette smoking is declining throughout the world, in Indonesia, the industry continues to thrive. Indonesia has one of the highest smoking rates in the world and is currently one of the biggest producers of tobacco worldwide, with Malaysia and the United States being two of their important markets. There are hundreds of tobacco companies in the country, with Gudang Garam, Djarum, Sampoerna, Bentoel and Wismilak dominating the Indonesian market share.
Kretek was initially a habit of the lower classes of society. However, it has now become very popular among the "middle class and intelligentsia, to the extent that it has become very de rigueur and a mark of Indonesian-ness."