Many Jakartans claim to be unaware of World No Tobacco Day

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The majority of smokers in the capital continued to light up during World No Tobacco Day on Friday, saying that they did not know it was international no-smoking day.

It seemed that the anti-tobacco day failed to persuade smokers to quit their habit for the day as many people were still seen smoking in offices, shops, markets, on the streets, on trains, and buses and other means of transportation.

Five out of six people questioned about the no-tobacco day said that they were completely unaware of it.

"No-tobacco day? I'm sorry, I don't know anything about that," said Jubaidi, a street vendor in Tanah Abang Market, who said that he was once hospitalized for tuberculosis before his marriage.

Jubaidi said that he used to smoke two packs of cigarettes per day before falling ill. Now he smokes an average of two cigarettes per day.

He claimed that once he had managed to stop smoking completely for a year, but he lapsed seeing his colleagues smoking.

Jubaidi said that becoming a street vendor was the only choice for him as he could not work too hard after his tuberculosis, as well as the fact that he had no other skills.

"I know the consequences of smoking, and that's why I only smoke two cigarettes a day," said Jubaidi.

It was not only the average man on the street who was unaware of World No Tobacco Day. Employees of big companies were also in the dark.

"I know nothing about it," said a lady working in a noted private company in Palmerah, Central Jakarta.

Actually, heavy smoking not only affects the health, but the pocket as well.

Hasan, 43, is a good example. He said that he spends Rp 10,000 on two packs of cigarettes per day. His daily earning are between Rp 30,000 and Rp 35,000.

With this money, he has to support a wife and six children, who are still of school age.

"I cannot stop smoking as I've been addicted since I was young," said Hasan, who always sleeps in Palmerah market in Central Jakarta during the night if he does not return home to Bogor, West Java.

The World Bank's Watching Brief May 2002 says that 6.6 percent of the world total of 1.1 billion smokers are Indonesians. Another study shows that 70 percent of the Indonesian population, or some 141.44 million people, are smokers.

The government has been seemingly reluctant to pursue an anti- smoking agenda as it gets significant revenues from the cigarette industry. Last year, the government's revenue from excise duty on cigarettes totaled Rp 17 trillion.

Like Hasan and Jubaidi, many Indonesians know about the impact of smoking on their health, but most of them are reluctant to stop smoking. Many say that they began smoking after seeing their peers smoking.

Markus, a resident of Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, who is a construction worker in Cibinong, West Java, said that he began smoking when he was in senior high school because many of his friends were also smokers.

He said that he spent up to Rp 13,000 per day on two packs of cigarettes, and that he earned up to Rp 40,000 per day.

"It is impossible for me to stop smoking in the near future as many of my friends are smokers. And so far smoking has had no impact on my health," said Markus.

Jamal, 45, another street vendor, knew that it was World No Tobacco Day on Friday. But he said that despite his awareness that smoking was slowly killing him, he still smoked six cigarettes per day at a total daily cost of Rp 3,500. As a vendor he can earn between Rp 10,000 and Rp 20,000 per day.

Markus concurred with him, saying that all of his friends, who happened to be active in vigilantism against drugs and drug- related crimes in their areas, were smokers. "I often forget to eat, but I never forget to smoke," Markus concluded.