P3I Strongly Condemns Child Exploitation in Vape Promotion, Demands Firm Legal Action

The Indonesian Advertising Companies Association (P3I), together with the P3I Advertising Supervisory Board (BPP), has strongly condemned an alleged violation of advertising ethics and legal rules concerning the involvement of a child in the promotion of TAZELAB electronic cigarette products by content creator Big Mo (Muhammad Jannah). This firm stance was taken in response to public unease over the proliferation of promotional content for addictive substances that exploits children for commercial gain in the digital sphere. Acting Chairperson of P3I Central, Adi S Noegroho, asserted that promoting addictive substance products like vapes by exploiting children constitutes a serious violation that breaches positive law and the norms of the Indonesian Advertising Ethics (EPI). He expressed profound concern over the phenomenon and urged all creative industry stakeholders not to sacrifice children’s futures merely for commercial value. “We strongly condemn all forms of advertising and promotion of cigarettes and vapes that contravene Government Regulations and the Indonesian Advertising Ethics,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (4/8/2026). He stressed that the advertising industry and digital media must not sacrifice child protection for commercial content alone. This is not just a matter of ethical violations, but a direct threat to the protection and development of the younger generation. Adi further explained that the government has actually established very strict rules regarding conventional cigarette and electronic cigarette advertising through Government Regulation Number 28 of 2024 on Health. In this new regulation, the government explicitly equates the marketing rules for vapes with those for conventional cigarettes as an effort to control the consumption of addictive substances in society. Specifically, Article 446 paragraph 1 of the Health Government Regulation clearly prohibits anyone producing, importing, or distributing tobacco products and electronic cigarettes from advertising them on digital-based social media. Besides violating government regulations, Adi stated that the action also breaches several articles in the 2020 Indonesian Advertising Ethics Code. The broadcast of the promotion was proven to violate Article 2.2.1 and Article 4.6.11.a, which prohibit cigarette advertisements from being published on media whose primary target audience is under 21 years of age and require social media to prevent access by that age group to adult content. Furthermore, the provisions of Article 2.2.3.d and Article 3.1.3 of the EPI also strictly prohibit the depiction of children in cigarette advertisements or showing children as advocates for products not intended for them. This violation could also potentially fall into the criminal domain, where Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Amendments to Law Number 23 of 2002 on Child Protection, specifically Article 76J paragraph 2, explicitly prohibits anyone from deliberately placing, allowing, involving, or ordering the involvement of a child in the abuse, production, and distribution of alcohol and other addictive substances. Seeing the prevalence of such violations, Adi conveyed the organisation’s official stance that P3I together with BPP-P3I fully supports the steps taken by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, and the Indonesian National Police to thoroughly investigate, take firm action, and impose the strictest possible legal sanctions on the perpetrators of child exploitation to provide a deterrent effect. P3I also urges all brand owners, advertising agencies, digital media, talent management, and influencers to conduct due diligence on all marketing communication materials to ensure they do not involve children or create the perception that children are part of the promotion of addictive substances. In addition, P3I encourages digital platform managers to tighten supervision, accelerate the takedown of content that violates the law, and strengthen child protection mechanisms in cyberspace. “P3I and BPP-P3I are committed to continuously improving education for the creative industry, agencies, brands, media, and content creators regarding the implementation of the Indonesian Advertising Ethics and marketing communication regulations for products with special restrictions,” concluded Adi.