Kretek (Kree-tick) are cigarettes made from tobacco, cloves, and other herbs. The name itself is a play on the sound of burning clove. They are extremely popular in Indonesia, with 90% of smokers using them, due to the lower taxation. Hundreds of brands come out of Indonesia and the most popular one to go international include: Djarum, Dji Sam Soe 234, Gudang, and more.
Legality[]
While legal in most countries, in 2009 the U.S. Senate passed a bill effectively banning Kreteks from being sold in the United States. To work around this many kretek brands started to sell Kreteks as little cigars as opposed to cigarettes. Indonesia has been trying to fight the law, since they export $500 million dollars worth of Kreteks a year.