Association: Due to the actions of individuals, workers in the vape industry are threatened with losing their livelihoods

JAKARTA - Workers and business actors of legal electronic cigarettes (vape) are the parties most affected by the prevalence of drug abuse using vape devices. The reason is that social stigma greatly affects consumer confidence and this has an impact on the sustainability of the livelihoods of retail workers, distribution, liquid manufacturing, creative actors, to MSMEs which have been dependent on income from the legal vape industry in Indonesia.

Chairman of the Indonesian Personal Vaporizer Association, Budiyanto, said that the legal vape industry has been running within the framework of clear laws, including tax obligations and business permits. However, the prevalence of news about drug abuse through vape devices has made the public perception of this industry also affected. In fact, abuse is carried out by a handful of individuals who do not reflect the legal industry.

"What happens in some cases is abuse by individuals by putting prohibited substances into the device. It needs to be emphasized that this practice is not part of the ecosystem of the legal vape industry," said Budiyanto, Friday, May 22.

According to him, generalizing to all vape industries actually creates new pressure for legal business actors, especially MSMEs and retail workers who are on the front lines. He said, some stores have started to experience a decrease in the number of consumers due to increased public concerns.

"Workers are the most vulnerable parties affected, because the decline in business activity directly affects the stability of their income and job sustainability," he explained.

Budiyanto explained that the vape industry has now developed into a large economic ecosystem with the involvement of nearly 150,000 workers in various sectors. In addition, this industry is also said to serve around 2.4 million active users and contribute to state revenues through taxes that reach around Rp. 2.8 trillion.

Legal Workers Suffer Stigma Due to Individuals

Not only from the economic side, social pressure is also beginning to be felt by business actors in the field. Chairman of the Indonesian Vape Retail Association (ARVINDO), Fachmi Kurnia Firmansyah Siregar, revealed that a number of association members face an uneasy situation due to the development of the vape ban discourse.

"Some of our members cannot continue to rent because business owners are worried about the discourse, some are persecuted by the surrounding residents because they are considered to sell drugs, and some cannot apply for credit to banks because they are afraid that the vape business will be illegal," he said.

Fachmi said this condition made many workers and business actors live in uncertainty. In fact, the legal vape industry has no connection with the practice of drug abuse carried out by certain individuals.

"We work and look for legal businesses, suddenly our business will be abandoned because of the actions of irresponsible people who have nothing to do with us," he said.

In addition, APVI and ARVINDO emphasized their support for efforts to eradicate drugs without sacrificing the continuity of legal industries that have complied with the rules. Budiyanto considers it important to have a clear separation between the criminal acts of drug abuse and the continuation of the legal vape industry. According to him, an overly general approach can have wide social and economic impacts, especially for workers.

"This industry is not only about products, but about life and livelihood. The biggest risk of an imprecise policy approach is the loss of livelihoods for many individuals and families," said Budiyanto.

Similarly, Fachmi said that business actors were ready to support stricter supervision of the misuse of vape devices. In fact, the association claimed to actively provide information to the police, the National Narcotics Agency, and customs if they found suspicious activities related to illegal vapes.

"We support strong oversight of the vape industry and are ready to implement various control policies set by the government. However, we hope that the policies taken will remain proportionate and consider the sustainability of legal business actors," concluded Fachmi.****