IYCTC Research: Thousands of Students in North Lombok Exposed to Cheap Cigarette Advertisements

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MATARAM – Results from research by the Indonesian Youth Council for Tactical Change (IYCTC) have found that thousands of students in North Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), are exposed to advertisements for cheap cigarettes. IYCTC researcher Nalsali Ginting stated that the study was conducted in three main sub-districts of North Lombok Regency (KLU), namely Pemenang, Tanjung, and Bayan.

There, IYCTC identified 354 outdoor cigarette advertising spots, where 88.7 percent or nearly all of them are prominently located within the prohibited 500-metre radius of schools. “This is not mere coincidence, but a systematic targeting pattern against children. Nearly 30,000 students in KLU are forced to see cigarette advertisements every day on their way to school. These ads are manipulative, even using bright colours and claims of fruit flavours like apple, watermelon, and berry, which are very familiar to the children’s world,” Nalsali explained in his statement on Tuesday (22/4/2026).

He said the research also uncovered a grim fact regarding price accessibility. As many as 42 percent of the total advertisements openly display prices below Rp 20,000, with many sold in single sticks.

“The tobacco industry is attempting to shift people’s basic needs to consumption of addictive substances. If the 500-metre radius is truly cleared of advertisements in accordance with the KLU Regent’s Regulation, then more than 60 percent of residential areas in this region will become much safer and healthier places to live,” he stated during a discussion held by IYCTC and the SOS coalition.

In response to these findings, Nalsali urged the North Lombok Regency Government to strengthen the Task Force by involving youth organisations, such as participants in the DPRemaja programme, who are currently actively conducting recesses and grassroots policy oversight.

The Head of the Health Office of KLU, Lalu Bahrudin, said the local government has issued Regent’s Regulation (Perbup) Number 20 of 2025 regarding the implementation of Smoke-Free Areas (KTR), with the main focus on clearing the 500-metre radius around schools from the siege of cigarette advertisements. “This policy is an emergency measure given that the active smoker rate in NTB has reached 35 percent, where one-third of the population is exposed to cigarette smoke,” he said.

In North Lombok itself, he added, the prevalence of smoking among children aged 10-18 stands at 7.4 percent. These children even start trying cigarettes from junior high school age due to massive advertising exposure. “As a result, morbidity in KLU is dominated by non-communicable diseases and a surge in pneumonia cases among toddlers under five years old due to second-hand smoke exposure at home,” he said.

Meanwhile, Assistant III of the North Lombok Regency Secretariat, Wahyu Darmawan, reminded that the mandate for KTR protection is part of Law Number 25 of 2009 on Public Services. However, he highlighted the results of the 2025 Ombudsman audience, which showed that KTR compliance in government offices is still weak, except in health centres and the district hospital.

“Our government offices must set an example. There should be no more smoking in random places within public service buildings. We must realise that allowing children to be exposed to cigarettes is a form of violence against children,” Wahyu emphasised.

Wahyu added that the North Lombok Regency Government has asked all Regional Work Units (OPD) to be concerned and provide designated smoking areas that do not disturb non-smokers, especially pregnant women and children.