H

igh school students from 30 schools in Bekasi, South Tangerang and Bogor, held a rally on Jl. Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, on Saturday to protest against tobacco advertisements around their schools.

The rally was part of the #TolakJadiTarget (resist becoming a target) campaign by the Lentera Anak Foundation (YLA), which was launched simultaneously in 90 schools from Padang, Mataram, Bekasi, Bogor and South Tangerang in September last year.

“The campaign is aimed at rejecting advertisements by tobacco companies deliberately placed near schools,” said Lisda Sundari, the chairwoman of the YLA. Lisda also claimed that over the course of the campaign, which was still ongoing, at least 61 cigarette brands placed their advertisements near participating schools.

Iyan Tardiana, a teacher in SMK 1 vocational high school in Cibinong, expressed his concerns about the tobaccos ads apparently targeting students. “The tobacco companies bombarded our school with many forms of advertisements, aiming to target potential customers. […] The government should create a regulation to ban this,” he told The Jakarta Post.

The students also held a theatrical performance with the theme “Upacara Inisiasi Pengikut Serigala Berbulu Domba” (Initiation ceremony of the followers of a wolf in sheep’s clothing), portraying the tobacco companies as a wolf in sheep’s clothing armed with various tactics to persuade young people to buy their products.