About 214,300 workers were engaged full-time in the tobacco manufacturing industry in 1989. The Indonesian kretek industry ranks as the second largest employer after the government.
Most tobacco consumed in Indonesia is in the form of cigarettes.
A survey carried out in Jakarta in 1981 estimated that each smoker consumed 12 cigarettes a day, on average. In 1983, the average tar content of 18 brands of kretek cigarettes was 58.0 mg. These are substantially higher than levels permitted in industrialized countries. Mortality from Tobacco use Nationally reliable mortality and morbidity data are not available. However, whenever comparable data are available, they point to an increase in the major chronic diseases associated with smoking.