In Indonesia, electronic cigarettes are popular and are used by addicts who have difficulty in stopping smoking. There are plenty of electronic cigarettes in the market place but they all feature a mouthpiece for smoking, a heater, a battery and electric wiring. The e-cigarette comes with a portal for different flavors.
The Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency declared electronic cigarettes illegal in the country and has declared it unsafe to be used by humans. It has been said that the product contains high levels of nicotine that can do more harm than good.

The Indonesian agency is responsible for regulating the use of E cigarettes. These cigarettes are very popular in Indonesia and authorities are having a difficult time regulating them. Individuals have attested to the fact that their teeth have been ruined from the use of this cigarette. This type of cigarette is loved by smokers because it is said to be free of tar.
Government officials in Indonesia are doing all they can to ensure the craze about electronic cigarettes does not affect the youth of the country. The batteries in the gadget are said to breakdown into smaller particles when smoking and are absorbed into the lungs so long term use could lead to cancer.
It is not easy to control purchasing of the electronic cigarette as individuals buy it online or get it from their friends and family abroad. There have been improvements and variations to the electronic cigarette and an Indonesian company recently showcased the T-Rex 510 electronic cigarette has longer lasting batteries and also includes USB charges that one can connect to a computer for charging. These electronic cigarettes are loved by Indonesians because one does not need to have a lighter before use and also it has no ash and the need for an ash tray is eliminated.

Overall, cigarette smoking is bad for the individual and others health. The effects of smoking include lung cancer and respiratory problems. Even though electronic cigarettes are said to be safer than the normal cigarettes, they pose their own side effects and its best to quit all forms of smoking.

Smoking Ban in Indonesia
Indonesia does have a smoking ban but they are one of the few countries that has not signed or ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Indonesian national law prohibits anyone from smoking in such public places as on public transportation, children’s playgrounds and educational facilities, hospitals and other health care facilities, and in places of worship. Other public places and worksites are allowed to have a designated smoking area. Indonesian law states that each local government is to pass laws regarding the national health law’s smoke-free provisions. There were no deadlines in place from the country so some municipalities have put these laws in place and others have not.
The typical cigarette advertisement in Indonesia portrays men as being manlier if they smoke. Legislation has ruled to restrict these advertisements so they cannot show cigarettes, anyone smoking cigarettes or a pack of cigarettes. Advertisements for cigarettes on television and radio are restricted to playing between the hours of 9:30pm and 5:00am local time.
Indonesian cigarette packages are only required to show one warning label which is located on the back of the pack. The warning is as follows: “smoking can cause cancer, heart attacks, impotence, and disturbances to pregnancy and fetal development.” There is very little tax on tobacco products in Indonesia as compared to the rest of the world. The taxes are well below the rate recommended by the World Bank which is 65% to 80% of the retail price.

Who Regulates Smoking Bans in Indonesia?
The smoking bans have been in place in Indonesia for over a decade. In this time the laws have never been enforced and the Indonesian people have just learned to ignore them. Each local government should be regulating the amount of offenders and impose fines and other charges but it is not happening. Only one municipality in Indonesia has managed to become completely smoke free and this is because the law encourages everyone to work together. This ban was accepted because cultural and emotional concerns were taken into consideration and the people in this town were respected.

How Many Smokers are there in Indonesia?
Many Indonesians smoke. Approximately 63% of all men smoke and only 5% of women smoke. The reason for the low amount of female smokers is because female smokers are thought of as prostitutes. In children aged 13 to 15, 24% of the boys smoke and 2% of the girls smoke. Up to 30% of all Indonesian doctors smoke. 88% of all Indonesian smokers enjoy kreteks which are clove flavored cigarettes.
In recent years Indonesia has seen an influx of young children smoking. It is estimated that there has been a 900% increase in children under the age of ten who smoke in Indonesia. This has been attributed to the lack of tobacco regulation enforcement throughout the country.
In 1969 Indonesian smokers normally consumed approximately 469 cigarettes or kreteks per year. Currently that number has increased to almost triple the original number. This increase has caused smoking related deaths in Indonesia to account for almost 50% of the deaths in this country.
The blatant disregard for any anti-smoking laws that have been set forth by the Indonesian government tells us that the average Indonesian smoker does not agree with the laws. The fact that these smokers are allowed to continue smoking in public areas is a clue that the local law enforcement personnel don’t agree with the laws either.

The E Cigarette in Indonesia
One would think with the high death rate and enormous amount of children smokers in this country the invention of the E Cigarette would be a blessing. In fact it’s just the opposite. The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency has warned the Indonesian people that E Cigarettes could be more dangerous than regular cigarettes. E-cigs are illegal in Indonesia but many of the vendors have purchased mass quantities of them over the internet and are selling them in their shops. Healthcare workers believe this smoking alternative is poison.
E Cigarettes are illegal in Indonesia but they have not been classified as cigarettes or drugs. The main concern of the e-cig is that the solution contains 1% nicotine and propylene glycol or glycerin. The belief is that using the e-cig may lead to an uncontrolled amount of nicotine in the body and could cause nicotine poisoning.

Indonesia has the fifth largest tobacco market in the world. This is possibly because the taxes are unbelievably low and the regulations on smoking are not enforced. Furthermore, educational facilities are making special provisions for their students who smoke. While it seems the e-cig has been helpful in helping people to stop smoking, Indonesian government has banned this product in their country stating it is poison.

Jakarta, On 13-14 Desember 2005 The Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) commenced a 2-day roundtable discussion with the Commission of Inquiry of Human Violence (KPP-HAM) and Attorney General for human rights ad-hoc tribunal   at the Park Lane Hotel in Jakarta 13-14 December 2005. The CTF is a joint Commission established by the two States Indonesia and Timor-Leste aiming to strengthen friendship of both States and promote reconciliation.

The CTF invited the former Indonesian Head of National Human Rights and Indonesian General Attorney who handled the human rights violence cases at the human rights Ad-Hoc tribunal Jakarta to explain their findings and investigation on the human rights violence prior to and immediately after referendum 1999.

This roundtable discussion is to search information from those officers who handled cases related to the human rights violence in Timor-Leste so that the Commission can verify with the existing documents. This discussion as a part of fact-findings from different sources in order to enrich preliminary facts consequently Commission can achieve its mandate to reveal the conclusive truth. The Commission has commenced its operation since August 2005, however, this respective period mostly focused on equipping its internal administrative and procedural matters.

The CTF also held a meeting and dialogue with Bishop of Diocese Dili  Mgr. Alberto Ricardo and Special Representative of Secretary General United Nations (SRSG UN) in Timor-Leste Sukehiro Hasegawa.

In these series of meetings the CTF had the opportunity to inform its working progress and the working plans for the future. In general, the Parliament and and government of RDTL warmly welcomed the CTF’s progress reports and fully supported the CTF in executing its mandate to seek the conclusive truth.

In the meeting of the CTF with the Bishop of Dili advised the CTF to often open the intensive dialogue with victims in revealing the conclusive truth based on the expectation of public Timor-Leste.

In the dialogue of the CTF with SRSG Sukehiro Hasegawa and his staff in Obrigado Barracks had discussed the possibility of UN to assist the CTF in carrying out its tasks. The SRSG also advised his suggestions on the execution of its mandate.

The President of national  RDTL well received the existance of the CTF and gave his support to the CTF. He called on the CTF to generate the recommendations that can meet the public expectation of the two countries.

The CTF also paid a field visit to Liquica to meet with the representative of the victims and witnessess of human rights violation to  directly obtain more intensive information and picture about the nature, cause and extent of the human rights violation that occurred in Timor-Leste 1999.

In the visit to Timor-Leste, the CTF also held the informal meetings with the NGOs, Diplomatic Corps and academicians. The aim of those meetings are to give the information about its existence, mandate and to inform the work progress of the CTF that have been achieved during the six months as well as the work plan and strategy for the future will be carried out by the CTF in revealing the conclusive truth.

Since its inception, the CTF have held several meetings with various parties in Indonesia such as; the Head of Indonesian National Human Rights Commission, the Head of Commission of Inquiry of Human Rights Violence, Attoney General and Judges who handled the cases of human rights violation in Timor-Leste 1999.

The Commission is currently reviewing documents as well as matching and corroborating the reports of SPSC (Special Panel for Serious Crimes), CAVR (Commission of Reception, Truth and Reconciliation), Ad-hoc Tribunal Jakarta and KPP-HAM (Commission of Inquiry for Human Rights Violation). Therefore, the Commission had invited speakers namely Dr. Longuinhos Monteiro, Attorney General of Timor-Leste, Robert Evans, Director Plowshares Institute of USA, Fachrul Razi, former Deputy Commander of TNI (Indonesian National Army),  Muladi, Governor of National Defence Institute (Lemhanas) and expert of criminal law, to speak before the commission at its 12th meeting in Denpasar, Bali.

On 18 May 2006, Longuinhos Monteiro presented a paper on the investigation and accusation of human rights violation before, immediately and after the referendum following UNTAET Regulation 15/2000 and 16/2000. Mr. Monteiro described the process of investigation on the crimes against humanity by the Special Panel for Serious Crimes Unit and the process of lodging indictments against members of militia, police and military who were involved in the human rights violation in 1999. The crimes occurred in 1999 include; murder, deportation, destruction were systematically committed.

From 2001 to 2005 the Special Panel Court has indicted 391 indictees either inside or outside the jurisdiction of Timor-Leste, among which 84 of those living in Timor Leste have been convicted.

“The Special Panel for Serious Crimes had concluded that all events occurred before, immediately and after the referendum of 1999 was carefully planned and designed in advanced”. said Monteiro.

On 19 May 2006, Prof. Dr. Robert Evans presented a paper on the successes and failure of Reconciliation Commission including the challenges and obstacles in establishing a credible and effective Commission. Mr. Evans highlighted that a credible Commission must engage THE civil society and all components of society in open dialogue. He further advised the successfulness of a Commission must fulfil several points as follows:  notion of trust, good faith in truth-seeking, acknowledgement of responsibility and restorative justice (holistic approach).  In order to achieve it, the Commission is advised to focus its mandate on victims (victim-oriented), vulnerable groups and perpetrators of the victimized system.

He expects that the final recommendation of the Commission should include also “non-occurrence events in the future by reforming institutions which were part of the past”.

On 22 May 2006, Fachrul Razi former Deputy Commander of TNI presented a paper on the policy of the Indonesian military (TNI) since the 2 options on referendum were offered by President B.J. Habibie until the period after referendum in East Timor. He described the preparatory phase of TNI before and during the referendum. During the referendum period, according to him, TNI was impartial towards the 2 parties by allowing foreigners to visit East Timor and cooperating with the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission to monitor human rights development in East Timor.

He further elaborated the role and policy of the TNI during the referendum period. The TNI was fully accountable and committed to the tripartite agreement of 5 May 1999, he said. However, it could not be materialized since the pro-autonomy group was not satisfied with the outcome of the referendum, added Fachrul.

On 24 May, 2006, Prof. Dr. Muladi delivered his presentation on the human right violations in East Timor 1999 from the aspect of Indonesian criminal law as well as on the issue of command responsibility from the aspect of international law. At the end of the presentation, he proposed the commission to reveal the conclusive truth in order to achieve reconciliation since the Jakarta’s Ad Hoc Tribunal proved to have not been successful in providing a satisfactory outcome to the trials of the perpetrators of human right violations 1999.