Why Are Good Charlotte, The Cranberries and Happy Mondays Shilling For Big Tobacco?

Think of your favourite band or singer. Chances are that you not only know their songs, you also know their favourite products. Whether it’s a clothing label or perfume, a car or a phone, the products they advertise are part of their image. You might even know about their favourite social causes – as the face of a charity which supports sick kids, a supporter of cancer or AIDS research, or a champion of the environment.

For kids in Indonesia, the product most often tied in with international musicians is cigarettes. The reason? Most major music events are sponsored by big tobacco.

The latest bands lining up as part of an Indonesian event being sponsored by a company selling the world’s most lethal drug include U.S. musicians 30 Seconds to Mars, Good Charlotte, Neon Trees, We are Scientists and Ed Kowalczyk, Irish band The Cranberries, and U.K. bands Happy Mondays and Blood Red Shoes. The event is Java Rockin’ Land festival, Jakarta from July 22 to 24 and will attract tens of thousands of Indonesian young people. Sponsored by cigarette company Gudang Garam, the festival is 3 days of top music delivered with a blast of tobacco promotion.

These bands have supported causes as diverse as cancer research, supporting sick children, fighting poverty and environmental protection. Yet in Indonesia, they are performing at a promotion for a product that not only causes death and illness, it is also an environmental disaster and direct cause of poverty.

Indonesia is paradise for tobacco companies. Advertising and promotion are freely permitted and smoking is even touted as a cure for cancer. Sponsoring music festivals is a favourite tactic – with deadly results. Almost a quarter of Indonesian boys aged 13-15 smoke, and over 60% of all Indonesian men smoke. Smoking rates are also rising fast among young women. Cigarette companies don’t sponsor these events out of the goodness of their heart or because they love music. They do it because it’s a great way to recruit new, young smokers – the fans of the bands playing.

Despite receiving hundreds of petition letters about the issue, all the bands involved have been silent. Clearly many of them care about social issues, so their willingness to abandon their principles when performing in Indonesia is puzzling. Perhaps it is an indication of just how lucrative tobacco-sponsored events are for international bands, or perhaps the health and well-being of their Indonesian fans is of no concern. They wouldn’t be allowed to perform under tobacco sponsorship in their own countries; they need to be told it is not OK in Indonesia.

Together they can show their fans that they care by forcing the tobacco sponsorship of this festival to be withdrawn. In the past, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5 have all dumped tobacco sponsorship. If these bands do nothing, they are not innocent bystanders: they are actively supporting the tobacco industry in its deadly mission.

Marita Hefler is a researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her professional and research interests cover youth smoking, cigarette advertising and development and poverty issues.

Photo of Good Charlotte by Ezyan Y. via Flickr