Meta’s Facebook, Instagram Used to Target Indonesians, Including Youth, for E-Cigarettes and Nicotine Products
The first-ever survey of e-cigarette marketing in Indonesia by public health organization Vital Strategies and the Indonesian Consumers Association (YLKI) demonstrates that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms are awash in deceitful e-cigarette ads
Jakarta, March 30, 2022 – The first-ever survey of e-cigarette marketing in Indonesia by public health organization Vital Strategies and the Indonesian Consumers Association (YLKI) demonstrates that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms are awash in deceitful e-cigarette ads that may skirt national regulations and are counter to Facebook’s own advertising policies. With more than 170 million internet users, Indonesia has the world’s fourth-largest online population.
"E-cigarettes and vapes are being marketed explicitly as products associated with the cool and glamorous lifestyle of young people and harmless to health when in fact they are harmful,” said Mr. Tulus Abadi, Executive Chairman of YLKI. “This is a blatant violation of Laws No. 8 of 1999 concerning Consumers' Protection, stipulating that consumers have the right to get right, clear, and honest information. We are launching ’Vape Tricks in Indonesia’ in conjunction with World's Consumer Day, to express our support for the government to start initiating regulations concerning vape marketing, particularly those done online, to protect consumers in Indonesia, especially the youth.”
"Our ‘Vape Tricks’ report finds Instagram and Facebook as the favorite platforms for E-cigarette marketing in Indonesia,” said Enrico Aditjondro, Associate Director, of Southeast Asia at Vital Strategies. “This report is a result of Vital Strategies’ online advertising monitoring tool, Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM), which has identified rising trends of online tobacco marketing in Indonesia, India, and Mexico. By analyzing e-cigarette marketing in Indonesia between August 13 to December 15, 2021, we demonstrate that Meta’s self-enforced policy of banning nicotine products from being marketed on its Facebook and Instagram platforms is not working. Much more needs to be done to ensure that using social media isn’t an onramp to smoking, illness, and death.”
Key findings of Vape Tricks in Indonesia: How E-cigarette Companies Use Social Media to Hook Youth:
Indonesian youth are being exposed to a barrage of e-cigarette marketing where they spend much of their time: on social media.[i]
More than two-thirds of the tobacco marketing on social media is for e-cigarettes (68%).
Instagram was the platform for 58% of active marketing, with content designed to draw potential young consumers to online retail portals.
Four out of the seven e-cigarette brands marketed on social media are based in China, which is the leading source of e-cigarettes flooding the market in Indonesia.[iii]
E-cigarette companies are positioning their products as lifestyle products and mentioning potential harms including:
Positioning products as must-have high-tech gadgets (60% of posts)
Framing products as entertainment devices (13% of posts)
Positioning products as glamorous (8% of social media posts)
Companies are also posting instructional videos (8% of posts) on how to use products
Tobacco use is a leading public health threat in Indonesia which has some of the highest rates of tobacco use in the world: more than two-thirds of adult men[i],[ii] and 19.2% of young people aged 13-15 use tobacco. This large population of people who use tobacco paired with lax regulations[iv] has made Indonesia a desirable target for the e-cigarette industry,[v] which has been steadily growing since 2015.8 E-cigarette use among high schoolers ranges widely by region, from 10.75 in Yogyakarta to as much as 22.37 in Bekasi, West Java.
Vapes and e-cigarettes are categorized as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)/Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) and can be defined as electronic and/or battery-operated devices designed to heat the nicotine-containing liquid. The World Health Organization, the Ministry of the Health Republic of Indonesia, as well as the National Food and Drug Monitoring Agency have stated that vaping is harmful to health.
“Vape Tricks in Indonesia” is based on data collected through the Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM), a digital media monitoring system used to track tobacco marketing online through the systematic analysis of online news, articles, social media posts, and conversations. For further details, please visit www.termcommunity.com and follow the conversations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with the hashtag #OnlineTanpaRotrik.
Editor's Note
The lack of policies allows the E-Cigarette industry to grow
The World Health Organization (WHO), The Ministry of the Health Republic of Indonesia, and the National Food and Drug Monitoring Agency have stated that electronic cigarette is a harmful product. Most electronic cigarettes or vapes contain nicotine, an addictive substance harmful to brain development in young people. Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia that has not ratified the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), an international treaty that requires parties to address tobacco use by adopting evidence-based measures. Many countries in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Thailand, and Brunei have banned e-cigarette sales. Other countries like the Philippines and Myanmar are in the process of passing laws to regulate and ban e-cigarettes.
About Indonesian Consumer Association (YLKI, Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia)
Indonesian Consumer Association (Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia - YLKI) is an independent non-profit organization with the main goal of advocating consumers' interests and raising critical awareness regarding consumers' rights and responsibilities. Established on May 11, 1973, YLKI operates by doing studies/tests, responding to complaints and providing legal assistance; and carrying out educational and informational activities, as well as consumer advocacy. YLKI has peer partners in several municipalities and in other provinces, such as Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Makassar, Medan, Lampung, Banjarmasin, Palu, Denpasar, and other cities. Since 1974, YLKI has been a full member of Consumers International, based at 24 Highbury Crescent London.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. We work with governments and civil society in more than 70 countries to design and implement evidence-based strategies that tackle their most pressing public health problems. Our goal is to see governments adopt promising interventions at scale as rapidly as possible. To find out more, please visit www.vitalstrategies.org or Twitter @VitalStrat
For further information please contact Nina Karima at 081908967781 or nina.karima@gmail.com.