Density of cigarette retailers around educational facilities in Indonesia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: With 61.4 million smokers in 2018, Indonesia makes a significant contribution to the global number of smokers. The latest data show that smoking is increasingly common in youth.OBJECTIVE: To examine the density of cigarette retailers around formal and informal educational facilities in Indonesia.METHODS: We employed geospatial and quantitative analyses using data on cigarette retailers (from surveys during July–August 2019) and educational facilities in Depok City. Data analyses, in ArcMap 10.6 and Stata v15, compared the density within 100 m and 100–200 m from the facility.RESULTS: We found a 40% higher density of cigarette retailers in areas close to educational facilities. This high density is similar between formal (i.e., primary, junior high, and senior high schools) and informal educational facilities (i.e., early years education centers and mosques). Moreover, compared to the average, the density is higher near primary schools and senior high schools.CONCLUSION: There is a higher density of cigarette retailers around formal and informal educational facilities in Indonesia. This evidence confirms there is a need to regulate cigarette retailers near educational facilities, to enforce the ban on sale to minors and to ban product displays at retailers.