Smoking Down, Vaping Up Among Indonesian Minors

Smoking is down but vaping is up among Indonesian minors, reports The Jakarta Globe, citing a recent health survey.

According to the Indonesian Health Survey (SKI), the prevalence of smoking among 10-18-year-olds decreased to 7.4 percent in 2023, down from 9.1 percent recorded in the 2018 Basic Health Research.

However, the figure is still higher than the 7.2 percent prevalence in 2013 and the 5.4 percent target set in the 2015-2019 National Medium-Term Development Plan, noted Eva Susanti, director of non-communicable disease prevention and control at the Health Ministry during a World No Tobacco Day media briefing in Jakarta on May 29.

Minors’ use of e-cigarettes, meanwhile, increased from 0.06 percent in 2018 to 0.13 percent in 2023.

The Health Ministry is intensifying efforts to prevent children from smoking or vaping. This includes banning the consumption of tobacco and e-cigarettes by children and pregnant women, prohibiting tobacco advertising on social media, and outlawing the sale of single cigarettes.