Indonesia: Tobacco companies advertise near schools
A report released by three Indonesian civil society organizations shows extensive tobacco advertising within view of schools throughout the cities of Jakarta, Bandung, Makassar, Mataram and Padang. The report, which includes photographs showing tobacco advertising directly outside and within view of schools, leaves little room for doubt that students at the schools surveyed are exposed to cigarette advertising multiple times each day.
The report finds that tobacco companies advertising outside these schools in the five cities include Djarum, Nojorono, Gudang Garam, Bentoel/British American Tobacco, and Sampoerna/Philip Morris International. The tobacco industry constantly loses customers because many current smokers quit smoking or die from tobacco-related diseases, and tobacco companies must attract a new generation of tobacco users to continue making profits.
As a result, tobacco companies develop massive marketing campaigns to entice specific populations, such as women and children, to become long-term smokers. Tobacco companies in Indonesia spend hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars each year to advertise and promote their deadly products.