City braces for new smoking regulations<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Owners of enclosed buildings will soon be required to physically
\nseparate smoking places from non-smoking areas and must equip
\nsmoking rooms with exhaust fans, ash trays and warnings on the
\ndangers of smoking to health, a gubernatorial regulation states.<\/p>\n
Smoking is strongly linked to the development of conditions
\nsuch as cancer, cardiovascular disease and infertility.<\/p>\n
Gubernatorial regulation No. 72, dated June 20, 2005, was
\nissued as an implementing regulation of bylaw No. 2\/2005 on air
\npollution control, which will come into effect in February 2006.<\/p>\n
Under the bylaw, owners of enclosed buildings and other public
\nplaces that fail to comply with the regulation will be fined up
\nto Rp 50 million (US$4,850) or jailed for up to six months.<\/p>\n
The regulations are mostly addressed at those responsible for
\nsmoke-free zones -- owners of buildings, offices, schools, houses
\nof worship and drivers of public transportation vehicles.<\/p>\n
Also included on the list of public places are offices -- both
\ngovernment and private -- bus terminals, train stations, malls,
\nairports, shopping centers, hotels and restaurants.<\/p>\n
Public transportation vehicles, meanwhile, include trains,
\ntaxis, buses, busway, public minivans and kancil.<\/p>\n
According to the head of the City's clean air campaign Yusiono
\nAnwar Supalal, building owners, for example, may declare entire
\nbuildings as smoke-free places or they may designate special
\nsmoking places within their buildings.<\/p>\n
The regulation also requires people responsible for public
\nplaces to follow up on any complaints on violations of the smoke-
\nfree zones in their respective areas.<\/p>\n
Heads of work places are required to give warnings to
\nemployees who violate no smoking zones.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, drivers of public transportation vehicles are also
\nrequired to warn smoking passengers, but passengers may report
\nsmoking drivers to officials of the City Transportation Agency,
\nwho are required to take measures against such drivers.<\/p>\n
Bylaw No. 2\/2005 on air pollution control was approved by the
\nCity Council in early February and will be put into effect in mid
\nFebruary next year.<\/p>\n
The bylaw also emphasizes the importance of curbing vehicular
\nemissions, which contribute to over 70 percent of Jakarta's air
\npollution.<\/p>\n
The ruling includes requirements for all public vehicles to
\nconvert to using natural gas, as well as compulsory emission
\ntests for all vehicles.<\/p>\n
According to Article 40 of Bylaw No. 2\/2005, civil servant
\ninvestigators, in cooperation with City Police, will carry out
\ninvestigations against those who violate smoke-free zones.<\/p>\n
Executives of several building management companies said on
\nWednesday that they had not received any information about the
\nnew regulations, but said that they had no problem in banning
\nsmoking in public spaces in their building.<\/p>\n
Maintenance manager of PT Sarinah on Jl. M. H. Thamrin in
\nCentral Jakarta Suhodo, for example, said that the most important
\nthing was that the administration was consistent in enforcing the
\nregulation.<\/p>\n
"For us, there is no problem, but we hope that the enforcement
\nwould be carried out fairly in all buildings in the city. If we
\nimplement a smoking ban, while others do not, our mall will have
\nno visitors or tenants," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-braces-for-new-smoking-regulations-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}