A Kudus Citizen Successfully Makes Cigarettes Made Of Talas Leaves

Kretek cigarettes made from taro leaves and spices without nicotine because there is no tobacco material. (Between/Akhmad Nazaruddin Lathif)

JAKARTA A resident of Padurenan Village, Gebog District, Kudus, Central Java, succeeded in creating cigarettes without using tobacco leaves that contained nicotine, but instead used taro leaves.

According to Ulwan Hakim, the maker of cigarettes made from talas leaves in Kudus, Sunday, the idea of creating cigarettes made from talas leaves began when he learned that there were large exports of talas leaves, so he was interested in trying to make cigarettes using talas leaves.

"It turned out that it tasted bad, felt angry, bitter and bitter," he said as quoted by Antara.

The trial of making taro leaf kretek cigarettes, he said, started in 2022 by bringing in talas leaves that have been distributed, such as tobacco from West Java, Purbalingga, and Temanggung.

failed with the first trial, then tried to combine it with various other leaves, such as papaya leaves, tea leaves, and coffee leaves.

After conducting a series of trials, he finally found a mixture of talas leaf cigarettes with a number of spice ingredients with a total of 17 ingredients.

However, he was reluctant to mention the mixture, considering that the taro leaf cigarettes produced by his products began to be tested on the market.

Meanwhile, the selling price per pack containing 12 very cheap sticks, only Rp. 5,000, considering that there is no excise tax such as cigarettes made of tobacco.

"I have also consulted with the Customs and Excise side, the cigarettes it produces because they are without tobacco ingredients and do not contain nicotine are certainly not subject to excise," he said.

In the legislation, he said, only mentions products that are subject to excise stamps, namely cigarettes made from tobacco, vape, and alcoholic beverages.

For the time being, he added, one bale or 200 packs of cigarettes have been produced. Meanwhile, the marketing is in Sumatra, Jambi and several areas in Java.

"Responsions from people who usually smoke vary, but many have given appreciation so that many are interested as an alternative for heavy smokers who find it difficult to leave tobacco cigarettes," he said.

Talas plants have been known by the Javanese community as lmpong plants or tubers. Talas or taro are tropical plants that are commonly found in Southeast and South Asia.

In some areas where it is difficult to grow rice plants, using taro sweet potatoes as a substitute staple food for rice. In fact, the leaves can also be used as vegetables known as lompong vegetables.

The information is that the talas leaf which has the scientific name Colocasia Esculta contains fiber, water, energy, protein, vitamin C, iron, and various minerals.