Rio Ferdinand criticised over Indonesian tobacco link

The player appeared on billboard advertisements and a 30-second commercial on Gudang Garam's Intersport channel, the brand’s internet-based sports channel that broadcasts Premier League football matches and is said to help raise the profile of English football in Asia.

In the commericial, Ferdinand, who is known to be an active supporter of the international children’s charity Unicef, wears a jersey with the tobacco company's logo on it.

Gudang Garam is one of the largest tobacco companies in Indonesia, and its products, which are flavoured with spices such as cinnamon, are reportedly very popular among children.

“Whatever one’s thoughts on the promotion of tobacco, we have to bear in mind that in Indonesia tobacco is a grey market and the legislative environment is very different to that in the West and other Asian markets such as Singapore,” Graham Hitchmough, regional director for ASEAN at The Brand Union Singapore, told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

He noted that such an incident, while showing that Ferdinand has been poorly advised of the link between Gudang Garam and Intersport, may actually positively build awareness of tobacco's link with sport and prominent global athletes among many Indonesian consumers. 

“At the same time though, it will provide a high-profile platform for anti-smoking lobbyists in both the UK and Indonesia to get their message across,” he said.

Tobacco companies in Indonesia have long been involved in the sponsorship and promotion of sport and other events, including music festivals where international bands are often criticised for their participation.

There have been persistent calls to control tobacco advertising in the country, which holds the third highest number of tobacco consumers in the world, after China and India.

The Indonesian government recently announced a new regulation for the tobacco industry, which requires that 40 per cent of cigarette packaging be covered with health warnings on both sides.

More than 200,000 people die from smoking-related illnesses in Indonesia every year. International attention was drawn to the country’s smoking problem when a disturbing YouTube clip of a smoking toddler went viral a couple of years ago.