Govt urged to drop revised cigarette regulation<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A group of 18 non-governmental organizations appealed to the
\ngovernment on Friday to drop a revised government regulation (PP)
\non cigarettes, which they said was drawn up with a total lack of
\ntransparency.<\/p>\n
The organizations, grouped under the National Movement on
\nSmoking Control, fear the revision will boost the production of
\ncigarettes, targeted mainly at young people. The World Health
\nOrganization (WHO) has named Indonesia the fourth largest
\ncigarette consumer on earth.<\/p>\n
\"Don't change the regulation just for the sake of commercial
\ninterests. Think about the side effects,\" said Merdias Almatsier,
\nthe director of Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta and the
\nhead of a non-governmental organization that campaigns against
\nsmoking.<\/p>\n
The coalition questioned the drafting of the revised
\nregulation by the Ministry of Health, saying there was an absence
\nof public participation.<\/p>\n
\"It will be a setback if the government bows to private
\ninterests at the expense of the public,\" Tulus Abadi of the
\nIndonesian Consumers Foundation said.<\/p>\n
Cigarette taxes were a major source of revenue for the health
\nministry's budget last year, accounting for about Rp 22.3
\ntrillion. Cigarette producers have always been among the
\ncountry's largest taxpayers.<\/p>\n
In 1999, the government issued a regulation on smoking that
\nrestricted tobacco advertising in the electronic media.<\/p>\n
It also restricted the maximum amount of nicotine and tar to
\n1.5 milligrams and 20 milligrams respectively per cigarette.<\/p>\n
Modern cigarette producers had to comply with the requirements
\nwithin two years. Large companies producing handmade cigarettes
\nwere required to meet the regulation within five years and small
\ncompanies within 10 years.<\/p>\n
However, after widespread protests by the cigarette industry,
\nthe government issued revised regulation PP No. 38\/2000, which
\nlifted the restriction on cigarette advertising in the electronic
\nmedia.<\/p>\n
The regulation also revised the maximum nicotine and tar
\ncontents, allowing large clove cigarette producers to meet the
\nrequirements within seven years.<\/p>\n
Clove cigarettes are the most popular type of cigarettes in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
An official at the Ministry of Health confirmed that the
\nministry had revised the 1999 regulation, although the revision
\nwas not approved by then president Abdurrahman Wahid. The
\nofficial refused to identify who asked for the revision.<\/p>\n
According to reports, cigarette consumption in Indonesia
\nreached 200 billion butts in 2000, a figure expected to grow by 5
\npercent a year. Tobacco consumption in the country between 1990
\nand 1997 grew by a staggering 44.1 percent a year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-urged-to-drop-revised-cigarette-regulation-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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