The numbers are shocking: Nearly one in five 13- to 15-year-old boys in Indonesia use tobacco, leading to lifelong smoking habits. Cigarette vendors set up shop outside schools and sell single cigarettes to pupils on the way to class. Ultimately, nearly seven in 10 Indonesian males will use tobacco.
To find ways to break this cycle, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $3.8 million over the next four years to the Jalin Foundation, a member of the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs global network that CCP helped found just three years ago. Jalin, in turn, has hired CCP to assist with the development, monitoring and evaluation of the project.
“Boys start smoking at the age of 13 and, one year later, they’re already addicted to smoking, making it harder for them to quit,” says Dian Rosdiana, a former CCP staffer who now leads Jalin. “So that’s why this program is trying to address the initiation of the smoking and also increasing access to cessation services.”
The goal is to reach boys ages 12 to 19 in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. They are currently conducting formative research to better understand the current landscape and will do a human-centered design process alongside teen boys to develop interventions that really speak to what drives their behavior.
“We know from lots of experience that just telling people not to smoke doesn’t work, because nicotine is an addictive substance,” says CCP’s Rob Ainslie, the team leader for Indonesia. “It’s not something you say, ‘Oh, you know what? I really don’t want to do this anymore. I’ll just stop tomorrow.’
“We need to really understand why kids are smoking, what is driving them to smoke, so that we can develop a campaign that will change social norms around smoking.”
Smoking is a huge problem in Indonesia. The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is an international treaty that has been signed by 180 countries globally, committing them to adopt comprehensive tobacco control policies. These policies aim to protect people’s health and well-being through measures such as designated smoke-free areas, health warning labels on tobacco products, increased tobacco taxes, and tobacco advertising restrictions.
“Indonesia is one of the only countries that have not ratified the WHO FCTC,” says CCP’s Tuo-Yen Tseng, who is helping with the research. “For example, tobacco advertising is allowed on TV in Indonesia. And many places in Indonesia don’t have rules mandating smoke-free public spaces.”
Late last month, the Indonesian government signaled things could be changing. According to Reuters, President Joko Widodo signed a new regulation to raise the minimum age for people wanting to buy cigarettes to 21 and ban the sale of single stick cigarettes, which make tobacco products more affordable and accessible to youth.
“Research shows that people who begin smoking at a young age are more likely to develop a severe addition to nicotine,” says Tseng, who is excited that the Gates Foundation is focusing on teens and smoking. “Starting early makes it harder to quit and can eventually lead to premature death from smoking-related diseases.
“So this is a very important opportunity to reach kids early, maybe even before they start.”
