Jakarta, Aug 23 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has long tried to
protect people from the injurious effects of smoking, while at the same
time continuing to enjoy significant amounts of tobacco taxes, reaching
over Rp80 trillion annually.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has, since May 21, 2003, circulated
a treaty, called the FrameWork Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), in
an effort to control tobacco consumption.
The Indonesian government, however, has not yet displayed its intention
to ratify the convention, as many favor and oppose the treaty at home.
Of course, the ultimate goal of the treaty is to reduce the number of
smokers, something that will have an impact on tobacco farmers and
industries, as well as state revenues from cigarettes and tobacco taxes.
Despite the fact that Indonesia has yet to ratify the convention, the
government has been attempting to launch anti-smoking campaigns.
To this end, the government has begun a campaign banning smoking in
public locations. It has also issued Regulation No. 109, 2012, which
bans the sale of cigarettes to youths below 18 years old.
The other campaign seeks to discourage people from smoking through
pictorial warnings, with gruesome pictures put on cigarette packets.
With regard to this, the government issued Government Regulation No.
109/2012 and Health Minister Regulation (Permenkes) No. 28 that obliges
cigarette industries to display health advisories with five different
types of graphic pictures printed onto cigarette packs.
The pictorial warning on cigarette packets will be effective in
reducing the number of smokers and preventing young people from taking
up the habit, according to Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi.
"Based on the experience (of other countries), a (pictorial) warning is
effective because written warnings alone are not enough," Nafsiah Mboi
said, after opening the Global Meeting on Infectious Disease in Jakarta
on Wednesday, August 20, 2014.
However, officials of the Indonesian Children's Lantern (LAI), a
non-governmental organization, is of the view that the FCTC, if
ratified, will be more effective in protecting Indonesian children from
the dangers of cigarettes.
"We hope that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will soon accede to
the FCTC," LAI executive director Hery Chariansyah said during the
celebration of Children's Day in Jakarta last month.
He added that the government had, on various occasions, through the
office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and the
Ministry of Health, expressed its readiness to ratify the FCTC during
the current term of President Yudhoyono.
"However, up to now, or less than 100 days until the end of Yudhoyono's
administration, the government has yet to ratify the convention," Hery
noted.
The present government will end its tenure on October 20, 2014. The
government has been looking to ratify the convention, but ministries
had not yet reached agreement, so Yudhoyono has delayed the ratification
of the WHO treaty.
According to Hery, the FCTC will not destroy cigarette industries or
tobacco farmers. "The FCTC aims to protect the current and future
generation from the ill effects of consuming cigarettes. It also aims to
protect them from exposure to cigarette smoke through regulations on
cigarette sales and on access and restrictions to cigarette products,"
he said.
Hery said it was time for the government to take sides with the need to
protect children from the addictive substance of cigarettes through
polices which would prevent youths from smoking.
"For the interest of the children, the Indonesian Children's Lantern
urged the government to ratify the WHO FCTC," he stressed.
Director of the Beverage Industry and Tobacco Affairs of the Ministry
of Industry, Faiz Ahmad, said recently that the government had decided
to postpone ratification of the FCTC.
"The government's decision is effective, not temporarily, but has a
long-term nature. It will remain there as long as it still received a
lot of support," Faiz said on the sidelines of his visit with a number
of legislators to Barito Cigarette Industry in Kudus, Central Java, last
June.
He added that President Yudhoyono was not prepared to sign the
convention, because of the failure of a number of ministries to reach
agreement regarding the treaty.
Further, the ministries had also received a letter from the legislative
body asking the government to postpone the ratification of the FCTC.
The government was asked to delay the ratification of the convention
because the legislative body was drawing up a law on tobacco, fearing
that it would have overlapping regulations, according to Poempida
Hidayatulloh.
"We have asked the Ministry of Health to stop its plan to ratify the
FCTC. The government should not issue a regulation on the FCTC that does
not serve the interest of the nation," said Poempida last March, who is
a member of the Legislation Body of the House of Representatives (DPR).
At the end of July this year the Ministry of Industry issued a
regulation on the supervision and control of cigarettes, considering
that the tobacco processing industry has an important role in driving
the nation's economy and creating multiplier effects.
It was mentioned that these multiplier effects included significant
contributions to state revenues, development of related service
industries, enhancements of business fields and the absorption of
adequate numbers of workers.
The tobacco industry remains a main source of the country's income. At
least 6.1 million people work in the cigarette industries or as tobacco
farmers.
In 2012 and 2013, for example, the country received at least Rp84
trillion and Rp85 trillion, respectively, in tobacco taxes.***2***
(T.A014/INE/B003)
(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 23-08-2014 21:22: |
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