Agromedicine – As the largest tobacco producer in East Java and the second-largest tobacco exporter in the world, tobacco has become an integral part of the community in Jember. The region is well known for producing and developing tobacco through various processed products. Tobacco plays a dominant role in the daily habits of the people of Jember, with each area cultivating different species and employing diverse production methods.
Several tobacco-related facilities have been visited by the Agromedicine Concentration of the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Jember. These include the Jember Tobacco Museum, the PTPN X Ajung Gayasan Tobacco Processing Warehouse and Plantation, and the PTPN X Tobacco Research Center. These visits were part of a series of collaborative activities and a guest lecture featuring Assistant Professor Athira Nandakumar, M.S., Ph.D., from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Kagoshima University, Japan.
This collaboration focuses on academic cooperation, including Kagoshima University’s role in environmental pollution screening in the Jember region and providing training for FK UNEJ academic staff in mercury detection, as well as participation in collaborative research studies.
The main event, the guest lecture titled “Tobacco-Induced Cancers,” was held on Thursday, December 4, 2024, at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Jember. The session was moderated by dr. Laksmi Indreswari, Sp.B., and attended by lecturers, students, laboratory staff, and research groups from health-related faculties within Universitas Jember.
In his remarks, dr. Septa Surya W., Sp.U., as the Person in Charge (PIC) of the guest lecture, stated that tobacco is deeply embedded in everyday life in Indonesia. As a developing country, it is not easy to change long-established lifestyle habits within society. Therefore, this activity is expected to broaden participants’ understanding of research conducted in other developing countries. It is also hoped that in the future, Indonesia will not only remain one of the largest tobacco producers but will also become a hub for researchers to further study tobacco, including disease prevention and treatment related to tobacco use.
Author: NWKR
