With over a million hits on YouTube, one Indonesian toddler has become very popular.... for smoking.  Living in the Indonesian Island of Sumatra the family are arguably the victims of (behind a gross lack of common sense) weak regulations. Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia not to have signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which critics argue has enabled tobacco companies to target young Indonesians with advertising and events promotions.  As this article reports: Anti-smoking initiatives have floundered in the face of the powerful local tobacco industry, which employs scores of thousands of people and generates more than six billion dollars a year for the government. A bill establishing tobacco as an addictive substance was about to be signed into law last year when officials realised the pertinent clause had been mysteriously deleted. The case is under investigation.  The government has increased excise taxes but prices remain extremely low by international standards, with a pack of 20 costing little more than a dollar.  Even so, studies have shown that poor families spend more on cigarettes than on books and education. In another blow to anti-tobacco activists, lawmakers have strongly opposed a plan to cut cigarette production by five percent to about 248 billion sticks this year on the grounds that it would hurt local producers."  Is this clip the smoking gun for the industry in Indonesia?

The rate of new infections through heterosexual contact in China tripled between 2005 and 2007, according to a new report from UNAIDS.  About 40% of new infections were acquired through heterosexual contact, with homosexual sex accounting for 32% and most of the rest related to drug abuse. According to the Chinese government, the number of people confirmed to be living with HIV was 319,877 at the end of last month, up from 135,630 in 2005. Most experts view those numbers as low, however, for the world's most populous country. In large part, that is because the groups most at risk are highly stigmatized in China and at risk of harsh penalties, so it is difficult to get accurate numbers.

No - not cursing. Just the topic of this article, well, 19 dams to be exact.   This article looks at the impact of the 19 dams on the Mekong River.  The writer reviews the opposing positions of scientists and local governments about the impact of the dam on live on the river (both life in the river and those dependent on the life in the river). in June 2009 the Mekong River Commission said that "dams reduce the yield of fisheries, it adversely affect fish passages, fish migration, fish habitats and that is serious because 60 million people in the lower Mekong Basin depend on the river network for food, transport and economic activity".  However, the demand for energy is such that many dams are under construction. Ultimately the article calls for stakeholder dialogue between the countries impacted - China, Thailand, Vietman and Laos - without it many could suffer.  Interesting it doesn't include those companies building the dams or those financing the construction - shouldn't they be engaged too?

As someone who did become partial to an occasional clove cigarette whilst living in Indonesia (and is now an anti-smoker!) this review by ABC news that looks at the tobacco industry in Indonesia struck home.  Indonesia, Zimbabwe and North Korea are the only countries who are not signatories to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.  Marketing strategies are reviewed within Indonesia and a review of the marketing and tax laws. The film also reviews the health costs to Indonesia from smokers and those who have health problems as a result of second hand smoke.  The programme reviews the role of tobacco farmers, the types of tobacco sold, which includes the handrolled Kretek brands, the role of tobacco companies and government. It is difficult to find a smoke free area in Indonesia, smoke and advertisements for smoking are all pervasive  - I recall watching some of the last soccer world cup in Indonesia and being shocked seeing top world class players advertising cigarette brands (Ronaldo). If you were wondering where Malboro Man has gone, he's moved to Indonesia.

When I studied Chinese in Qingdao back in the late 90s I learned three things very quickly: i) it's hard to convince Chinese people you don't drink alcohol; ii) it's even harder to convince people in Qingdao that declining Tsingtao Beer is not a personal slight on the city and its inhabitants; and iii) beer is not considered alcohol. Within a week of beginning class, one of my teachers started inviting me back to her place for lunch every day (we did a language swap so she could improve her English). At the first lunch, her husband offered me some brandy. I don't drink alcohol at all, but I took a glass as a show of good faith and discovered I spoke better Chinese while drunk but was a much worse English-language teacher. In the end I just got sleepy and our language swap ended when I couldn't form sentences any more. My teacher subsequently scolded her husband for forcing brandy on me (and ruining her chance to practice English), so the next day he apologised and said we wouldn't drink any alcohol for lunch. I was relieved, until he brought out two bottles of Tsingtao Beer cheerfully explaining that it wasn't real alcohol (he was scolded again and from then on we had tea at lunch). What can you expect in a city where during summer you can buy beer from kegs by the plastic bag...? Anyway, all this is an introduction to what everyone knows; drinking and meetings in China go hand in hand. These days I have to plead medical problems to avoid drinking. But for many others this is not an option, as a big story in the Chinese press this week demonstrated with the news that one man is dead and another is in a coma after heavy drinking at banquets. The two stories have even made it into the state media and the discussion has turned to why alcohol is necessary when doing business (especially if it results in deaths or comas). Every foreigner learns ganbei almost immediately ('bottoms up') upon arriving in China, but there are potentially serious consequences if there are too many ganbeis. I know it's kind of cool for Westerners to get drunk at banquets (and even cooler to drink their Chinese hosts under the table), but like an increasing number of Chinese I know, I tend to think that getting blind drunk for the sake of looking culturally hip is pretty lame. You can see the story about the dead and comatose officials here. The picture above shows the purchase of beer in Qingdao by the plastic bag... (see bigger version here).