"The smell of kreteks, named for the crackling sound they make as they burn, permeates buildings, trains, buses and restaurants, and it defines sensory, at least olfactory, perceptions of the country as a whole."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/FB13Ae04.html
More facts, less B.S.
Oh yes..a "need" for "drastic" action. Give me a break...more CDC nonsense (or bad reporting), while the CDC hide the fact that half of sexually active American women are infected with HPV, which results in thousands of cervical cancer deaths each year--and they refuse to publicize that condoms don't prevent HPV transmission (though they admit it on their website, at least).
Maybe it would be nice to publicize the extra risks from kreteks, but to ban them...sheesh.
So...is it good news that Indonesians are smoking so much? If 45 percent are under 20, does that mean lots are quitting as they age?
The first time I smelt someone smoking them in Indonesia, I thought they had some strange new blend of local marijuana.
OK, so the person that was smoking it had bleary red eyes (and looked kinda mellow)... so maybe that made me jump to conclusions... but then again, so do many others who smoked that stuff.
It seems to have taken off in Malaysia too, and the cheaper kreteks are favored by the poorer Muslim locals (Bumis, as opposed to the non-Muslims, mostly ethnic Chinese or Indians) who can't afford Marlboros like most everyone else...