Fruit-Flavoured Vapes and Cartoon Packaging Still Rife, Researchers Urge Tighter Oversight

Cartoon-style packaging and fruit flavours remain widespread on electronic cigarette products circulating in Indonesia, according to a recent study. The research, conducted by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, analysed 825 e-cigarette products in Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya. It found that 58 percent of the products used packaging designs featuring elements close to youth culture, such as cartoon characters, animations, memes, and unique typography, alongside brand names that appear fun and appealing. Some products even displayed illustrations resembling toys or video games.

Beyond packaging, the study found that nearly all products offered a variety of flavours. A total of 96 percent of the products listed at least one flavour variant on the packaging, with fruit and dessert flavours being the most common categories. More than two-thirds of the products also used images to depict specific flavours, while others employed terms describing sensations or experiences without directly naming the flavour.

Professor Katherine Clegg Smith from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health stated that the findings underscore the need for oversight of marketing elements used on e-cigarette packaging. She noted that requiring large graphic health warnings serves a dual purpose: raising public awareness of the risks associated with e-cigarette use and limiting the visual space that the industry uses for marketing. ‘The requirement for large health warnings is intended to have two impacts. Not only to deter new consumers from using e-cigarettes and increase awareness of the risks, but also to restrict the use of visuals or imagery that tobacco companies use to market their products in Indonesia,’ Smith said in a written statement on Tuesday (23/6/2026).

The findings come amid the implementation of Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024 concerning the safeguarding of tobacco and nicotine products. The regulation mandates graphic health warnings on e-cigarette packaging, raises the minimum purchase age to 21, prohibits the use of flavours other than tobacco, and restricts the promotion of tobacco products on social media.

Sumarjati Arjoso, Chair of the Tobacco Control Support Centre of the Indonesian Public Health Association (PPT-APMI), believes that restricting non-tobacco flavours could significantly reduce the appeal of e-cigarettes, particularly among adolescents. She noted that the industry has long relied on flavours as a key marketing strategy in the Indonesian market, making effective implementation of the flavour restrictions crucial. ‘We anticipate that the ban on non-tobacco flavours will have a significant impact on tobacco product marketing, especially those targeting teenagers. We need to carefully observe how this regulation is implemented, given the industry’s heavy emphasis on flavours in their marketing strategy in Indonesia,’ she said.

The research, published in the journal Tobacco Control, concludes that packaging and flavour options remain primary marketing strategies for e-cigarettes. The researchers argue that the full implementation of graphic health warnings and flavour restrictions could help reduce the appeal of these products, particularly among young people.