Kretek are cigarettes made with a blend of tobacco, cloves and other flavors. The word "kretek" itself is an onomatopoetic term for the crackling sound of burning cloves. Haji Jamahri, a resident of Kudus, Java, created kreteks in the early 1880s as a means to deliver the eugenol of cloves to the lungs, as it was thought to help asthma. Jamahri believed the eugenol cured his chest pains and he started to market his invention to the village. Today, kretek manufacturers directly employ over 180,000 people in Indonesia and an additional 10 million indirectly.
Partly due to favorable taxation compared to "white" cigarettes, kreteks are by far the most widely-smoked form of cigarettes in Indonesia, where about 90% of smokers usually smoke kreteks. In Indonesia, there are hundreds of kretek manufacturers, including small local makers and major brands. Most of the widely-known international brands, including Dji Sam Soe 234, Bentoel, Minak Djinggo, Djarum, Gudang Garam, and Wismilak originate from Indonesia. Nat Sherman of the United States produces cigarettes branded as "A Touch of Clove" but they are not true kreteks since there is clove flavoring infused into small crystals located inside the filter, rather than actual clove spice mixed with the tobacco.