Graphic images on the warning labels of cigarette packaging are required by law in Indonesia, but often these images are only shocking on the surface and don’t tell the whole story in in a way that is relatable enough to smokers to convince them to drop their harmful habit.
The same could be said about stats, such as the fact that Indonesia has some of the world’s highest smoking rates (including disturbingly high child smoking rates) leading to over 200,000 tobacco-related deaths each year. Despite such figures, there has been no signs of tobacco use decreasing in Indonesia (in fact, some legislators continue to push for a controversial bill that would increase tobacco production in the country).
In fact, it seems like a few viral posts on social media have done more good than any of the government’s paltry tobacco control efforts, convincing quite a few Indonesians to quit smoking (or at least say they would). One such Facebook post, purporting to show a smoker who had to have a tube drilled into his lungs, recently got shared over 71,000 times.
https://www.facebook.com/agundgunawan.ngeblink/posts/1435692166466516
The man in the photo is Agun Gunawan and the accompanying text was written by his wife, Rossa Ocha. In the post, Rossa is explains that Agung was recently diagnosed with a collapsed lung (pneumothorax) due to his smoking habit. Agung’s case seems to be severe, as he required the insertion of a chest tube to relieve pressure on the lung, allowing it to re-expand during respiration.
What’s important to note about Agun’s case is that he’s relatively not a heavy smoker (by Indonesian standards). According to his wife, he would smoke one pack every 2-3 days, whereas heavy smokers in Indonesia might smoke 2-3 packs every day.
Regardless, pneumothorax – which is often caused by an injury to the chest but can also occur suddenly – is not intrinsically linked to smoking, but smoking does greatly increase the risk for it. Symptoms of pneumothorax range from shortness of breath to sudden, severe chest pains. It can even be life-threatening if the air pressure in the chest prevents the lungs from getting enough oxygen to the blood.
Agun’s post has been shared over 71,000 times on Facebook since it was uploaded on July 26. Many of the commenters on the post said it convinced them to quit smoking or tagged a loved one who is a smoker to convince them to quit.
Last month, another Facebook post about quitting smoking also went hugely viral. It was posted by the wife of a man who saved up enough Rp 20,000 bills from not buying cigarettes to purchase a new motorcycle for his family.
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