"Smoking is forbidden? It'd be easier for me to divorce my wife than cigarettes. To quit smoking is pain," said Parimin, 48, a carpenter in Semarang, Central Java.
Suprapto, 53, a bricklayer couldn't agree more. Smoking during an afternoon rest, the smoke of his "Sukun-kretek", a clove-flavored cigarette produced in Kudus, Central Java, belched from his mouth.
"This is my favorite clove cigarette. It tastes great. Some people say Dji Sam Soe is the best brand. But it's a matter of personal preference. Even though smoking has been declared haram (forbidden), I choose to keep smoking," said Suprapto.
Sukun is a mid-priced brand, which costs Rp 4,500 (50 US cents) a pack, and is still within the reach of manual workers, such as bricklayers, whose daily activities are seemingly inseparable from cigarettes.
That's the voice of smokers at the grass-roots level. Though economically wasteful for workers who spend about Rp 5,000 a day on cigarettes, the effect on their performance is real.
"My stamina is low without smoking, something is lost. My mouth gets sour," claimed Suprapto, a claim shared by Parimin.
The haram edict recently issued by Muhammadiyah has actually surprised various circles. As the second-largest Islamic organization in Indonesia after Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah has considerable influence on the population.
"As farmers, we're very surprised. It means our crops can no longer be used. But it's cigarette factories that are affected the most. For us, there's no problem as long as factories are still ready to buy tobacco," said Joko Budiharjo, 53, a tobacco farmer in Kebonsari village, Temanggung, Central Java.
With 17 years' experience as a tobacco planter with almost five hectares of plantations, Joko is a well of knowledge on this branch of agriculture and the pricing of its commodity.
"Temanggung is a tobacco center, which is known for producing the best quality tobacco. There's srinthil, which sells for Rp 400,000 per kilogram. If it's blended with other tobacco, it will make the final product taste better," Joko pointed out.
In the 2009 harvest, A-grade tobacco was priced at about Rp 12,500 per kilogram, which further rose to the best quality with higher tar and nicotine levels. For instance, grade E was sold at Rp 250,000 per kilogram, grade G Rp 350,000 per kilogram and grade H fetched Rp 400,000 per kilogram.
Farmers don't farm srinthil either.
"This most expensive tobacco is like God's blessing to us. When the soil is rather dry like sand, srinthil appear unexpectedly. This type is not yielded by a whole plot of land," said Sugiyono, a farmer from Tegalrejo village, Ngadirejo district, Temanggung.
The certain thing is that the ban on smoking has caused anxiety among farmers, because tobacco planting is so ingrained in life in Temanggung, supporting entire communities. Upon entering the dry season in April, for instance, after harvesting vegetables farmers will begin planting tobacco. Only tobacco can offer profitable yields in the dry period.
"Are there any other crops that can be as productive as tobacco in the dry season?" queried chairman of the Central Java Regional Board of the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association, Nurtantio Wisnu Brata.
He questioned the draft government regulation on health precaution against tobacco as an addictive substance, which could threaten the tobacco industry and have a systemic impact.
Taking note that 97 percent of those working as tobacco farmers in Central Java are Muslim, Wisnu expressed fear that Muhammadiyah's edict might have an upward effect, making it the basis for the government to formulate new regulation.
"If such regulation later emerges, millions of people will suffer as a consequence. I'm suspicious of foreign interests trying to force a smoking ban. In September 2009 the US prohibited Indonesian cigarettes from entering that country. The Indonesian cigarette industry lost about US$380 million. Conversely, Indonesia continued to receive cigarettes from abroad," he said.
He added that the 2003 government regulation on health precautions on cigarette packaging had remained relevant to the control of tobacco products.
"This regulation remains applicable. But has the draft against tobacco as an addictive substance abruptly emerged?" he remarked.
In his view, the regulation can protect the interests of both smokers and anti-smoking groups. It limits broadcasting time for cigarette commercials, bans the appearance of cigarettes or people smoking in commercials or ads, prohibits promotions with cigarette gifts or prizes as well as any mention of tar and nicotine content, besides specifying anti-cigarette zones.
On paper, if smoking is really forbidden, there will be repercussions for thousands of cigarette factory workers, farmers, retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. On top of that, the state will also incur losses because cigarette excise is a major state revenue earner.
Kudus, known as Central Java's cigarette city, is home to 110,000 cigarette factory workers. They work in anything from small-scale producers with an output capacity of only 1,000 cigarettes a day, to large-scale manufacturers such as PT Djarum.
Data from the Office of Customs-Excise Inspection and Service in Kudus shows the city in 2007 had 2,239 cigarette factories. That number plummeted to only 384 in March 2009, after 1,855 factories had their production licenses revoked for violating several provisions.
Meanwhile, data from the provincial plantations office indicates that Central Java's tobacco plantations in 2001 covered almost 60,000 hectares and produced almost 40,000 tons, which increased to around 63,000 hectares in 2002 with an output of almost 43,000 tons. The area shrank to around 50,000 hectares in 2003 with producing almost 30,000 tons, followed by close to 49,000 hectares in 2004 with roughly 32,000 tons of output.
On a national scale, Indonesia's tobacco centers are located in three provinces, East Java, with 108,000 hectares or around 55 percent of the country's total tobacco area, Central Java with 44,000 hectares or 22 percent, and West Nusa Tenggara with 24,000 hectares or 12 percent.
Central Java and East Java have the nation's largest cigarette industries. Some of the major companies in Central Java are; Djarum, Sukun, Gentong Gotri and Djambu Bol. East Java boasts Gudang Garam, Bentoel, Dji Sam Soe and dozens of other smaller producers.
Central Java farmers will suffer the most if the haram edict is used as the basis for the new regulation. This is because the province supplies 26 percent of the demand of cigarette manufacturers. The remaining 74 percent is provided by East Java and other regions.
Central Java's tobacco centers are Temanggung, Kendal and Klaten, while East Java's are Bojonegoro, Pamekasan and Probolinggo.
The total number of Indonesian tobacco farmers is estimated at 700,000, out of the country's around 42 million farmers growing various other crops, with hundreds of thousands of cigarette factory workers.
In Temanggung, more than 47,000 families or almost a third of its total households grow tobacco as a living.
Clove cigarettes made their debut in Kudus. The history of the kretek cigarette industry has been recorded by historians Amen Budiman, Onghokham (Kretek Cigarettes, Its History and Meaning to National Development, 1987), authors Emanuel Subangun, Djatmiko Tanuwidjojo (Tobacco Product Industries, Challenges and Opportunities, 1993), and Mark Hanusz (Kretek, The Culture and Heritage of Indonesia's Clove Cigarettes, 2003).
All three books agree that the inventor of clove cigarettes was a man named Jamahri.
Jamahri, from Kudus, long suffered respiratory problems. It is alleged that he was healed after smoking a blend of finely chipped cloves and tobacco rolled in dried corn skin.
When the cigarette was lit, it produced the sound of dry leaves burning "kretek-kretek", hence the name.
Jamahri died in 1890, not long after the emergence of the Kudus clove cigarette industry between 1870-1880. His descendants and burial place remain unknown.
The clove cigarette business flourished in the hands of Nitisemito, who received the moniker "king of kretek". Born in early 1863 as the youngest of two siblings to the family of Haji Soelaeman, the village head of Janggalan, Kudus municipal district.
Niti was once secretary of Janggalan village and used to be a textile trader and batik seller before starting his cigarette business.
After marrying his wife Nasilah in 1894, he produced and sold his own batik in a store that also sold clove cigarettes. In 1906, Niti made his own clove cigarette rolled in corn skin. It wasn't until 1914 that he begun specializing in clove cigarettes due to his ever growing production, leading to thriving companies of the kind in Kudus.
Muhammadiyah's central board general chairman Din Syamsuddin on a recent visit to Cilacap, Central Java, told the public not to be confused over the haram pronounced by his organization.
"The edict is not binding. In my opinion, those who agree with the edict can follow it and those who don't may abandon it," he told journalists.
Despite its non-compulsory nature, Din hoped it would not lead to the view that clerics should not issue edicts might hurt society. He said clerics in his organization were aware of their responsibility and the edict was declared with a serious approach, accountable in this world and in the hereafter.
"Our assembly of clerics has three methods, which are discourses, edicts, and decisions," Din said, adding that decisions would have to be discussed and settled in a national conference and their outcome be submitted to Muhammadiyah's central board for implementation.
