Indonesia Unhappy with Flavored Tobacco Ban

Andrew Nagy
Posted: November 6, 2009

Indonesia's trade minister, upset by the recent FDA flavored tobacco ban that targets the country's clove cigarette export industry, wants to speak with U.S. officials.

Mari Pangetsu, trade minister of Indonesia, believes the ban, which went into effect on September 22 and prohibits the sale of clove cigarettes but not menthol, violates rules established by the World Trade Organization.

According to The Jakarta Globe, an Indonesian newspaper, the minister says the ban is also ruining the welfare of the country's clove farmers. The clove cigarette industry in Indonesia exports about $500 million worth of clove cigarettes every year. Approximately 99 percent of the clove cigarettes purchased in the United States come from Indonesia.

"We will arrange a meeting and will be having consultations to seek a fair solution to this matter," said Pangetsu in the news report.

California-based Kretek International Inc., the leading distributor of clove tobacco products in the U.S., might welcome the international pressure. On the same day the flavored tobacco ban took effect, Kretek filed suit in to try and prevent the FDA from moving against banning the company's Djarum-brand cigar products.

The company's cigar products come in packs of 12, not 20, and are wrapped in tobacco leaves. Kretek says the cigar does not fall under the federal definition of a cigarette.

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