Kreteks are Indonesian cigarettes made with a complex blend of tobacco, cloves and a flavoring 'sauce.' They are often called clove cigarettes. It is believed that the name kretek comes from the crackling sound the cloves make when they are burned.

Kreteks were originally created by Haji Jamahri in the early 1880's for medicinal purposes as a way to deliver the eugenol in the cloves to the lungs, as it was thought to help asthma. It cured his chest pains and he started to market his invention to the village, but he died before he could mass market it. M. Nitisemito took his place and began to commercialize these new cigarettes. Today kretek manufacturers employ over 180,000 people in Indonesia and account for 95% of the world's clove market. In the U.S. cloves are popular with social smokers, artists and the goth and punk subcultures. Djarum Blacks, a black paper kretek, are often linked with the goth image, leading to the infamous saying, "I'm so goth even my cigarettes are black."

Health Effects

The health effects above and beyond normal cigarette smoking are unclear. Studies have shown that although kreteks contain less nicotine than normal cigarettes they are more effective at delivering it and are smoked for a longer amount of time. The venous plasma nicotine and carbon monoxide levels from ten smokers were tested after smoking kreteks and were found to be similar to their normal brand of cigarette. [1]

Rats were given equal inhalation doses of American cigarettes and kreteks over a short amount of time. Kreteks did not appear to show worse health effects compared to American cigarettes. [2] The study was repeated with a 14 day exposure time and kreteks did not appear to show worse health effects when compared to American cigarettes. [3]

Those who have a respiratory infection should be cautious as the eugenol in clove smoke can cause a numbing of the throat which can diminish gag reflexes. [4] There have also been a couple cases of aspiration pneumonitis in individuals with normal respiratory tracts possibly because of the diminished gag reflex. Those who have an allergy to cloves should also avoid them.

There appears to be no support for the common myth that clove cigarettes will make an individuals lungs bleed any more than a normal cigarette, and claims that kreteks contain fiberglass is an urban legend. The user may cough up a larger amount of blood because of diminished gag reflexes and thus make it appear as if it was specifically cloves that caused the problem.

Legal Issues

The currently pending bill S.2461, the "Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act" [5] would prohibit cigarettes from containing any artifical or natural flavoring other than tobacco and menthol. Supporters of the bill claim that fruity and exotic flavors attract underage smokers and the removal of these flavors would curb underage smoking. Opposers to the bill question who it is trying to protect, especially since Philip Morris, a large backer of the bill, only produces tobacco and menthol cigarettes. A study by the CDC shows that kreteks account for only 10% of underage tobacco use and standard cigarettes account for the majority. The study does not appear to separate flavored from unflavored. [6]