Smoke, but little fire, to draft bill<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It is hard to avoid the pervasive presence of
\ncigarettes. Or, for all the best intentions, to resist the urge
\nto light up.<\/p>\n
Take a walk in a local shopping mall, and attractive young
\nwomen bearing branded merchandise and dressed in miniskirts offer
\nsamples of cigarettes to passersby, mostly teenagers and mostly
\nmale.<\/p>\n
Turn on the television in the privacy of your home, and watch
\nas macho men do macho stuff as they puff away on a favorite
\nsmoke.<\/p>\n
Tobacco companies are consummately skilled and aggressive in
\npromoting their products. Even the most resolute smoker out to
\nkick the habit will need an iron will not to succumb to the
\ntempting images. And impressionable others may well be tempted to
\ngive cigarettes a try.<\/p>\n
Still, the antismoking lobby can breathe a sigh of relief. The
\nMinistry of Health recently completed its draft regulation on
\nrestricting smoking in public places. The draft -- the first
\nregulation in Indonesia to issue rules on smoking to protect the
\npublic -- was submitted to the State Secretariat this month.<\/p>\n
\"We expect the regulation can be approved this year,\" said
\nDirector General of Drug and Food Supervision Sampurno.<\/p>\n
He was one of the panelists in a discussion, organized by the
\nNational Commission for Prevention of Smoking Problems Thursday,
\nto familiarize the public with the draft regulation.<\/p>\n
Audience members, mostly members of the national commission,
\napplauded the proposed legislation.<\/p>\n
\"I lost my husband because of cigarettes,\" actress Mieke
\nWijaya said, almost in tears. After a brief pause to compose
\nherself, she told the stunned audience that her husband, actor
\nDicky Zulkarnaen, smoked two packs of cigarette a day before he
\ndied of a stroke at the age of 56 in 1995.<\/p>\n
Sampurno said the draft regulation designated more nonsmoking
\nareas, especially in public places and the workplace, controlled
\nand supervised cigarette advertisements and promotional
\nactivities, and limited maximum tar and nicotine levels to 20 mg
\nand 1.5 mg per cigarette.<\/p>\n
Cigarette firms would also be required to measure the nicotine
\nand tar content of each batch and limit the sale of their
\nproducts to designated outlets.<\/p>\n
Still, many found the draft legislation lacking in concrete
\nmeasures to clean up the country's notoriously smoke-filled
\nrooms.<\/p>\n
The director general could not provide specifics about the
\ndraft, such as in disclosing the appointed places allowed to sell
\ncigarettes, the legal sanctions for violations of the regulation
\nor the practical measures needed to control and supervise
\ncigarette ads and promotional activities.<\/p>\n
Once the bill takes effect, cigarette firms would have from
\nfive years to 15 years to adjust tar and nicotine levels to the
\nrequirement.<\/p>\n
The window of five years will be given to machine-rolled
\ncigarette makers, most of which are giant multinationals. Clove-
\nblended cigarette makers -- which are mostly small and medium
\nlocal companies lacking the technology to measure the content of
\ntar and nicotine in their products -- permitted 15 years.<\/p>\n
The assistant to the coordinating minister for economy,
\nfinance and industry, Syafruddin A. Temenggung, praised the draft
\nregulation but said it did not go far enough.<\/p>\n
\"The regulation is too moderate, too soft,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Other Asian countries have imposed maximum standards for
\ncigarette tar and nicotine levels, but we still have to wait for
\nanother five to 15 years.\"<\/p>\n
Chairman of the National Commission for the Prevention of
\nSmoking Problems Merdias Almatsier said Indonesia was late in
\nprotecting its people from smoking-related diseases. However, he
\nexpected the regulation would be able to lower cigarette
\nconsumption, especially among teenagers.<\/p>\n
\"Psychologically, teenagers are still seeking their self-
\nidentity, making them an easy target of large-scale cigarette
\npromotions. And they are easily persuaded by promotions which
\nseem to offer a certain lifestyle or follow a trend,\" Merdias
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Indonesians smoke more than 200 billion cigarettes per year,
\nalmost 90 percent of which are clove cigarettes.<\/p>\n
Merdias criticized cigarette companies for trying to tempt
\nsmokers with macho images in advertising, the distribution of
\nfree samples in promotional activities and through sponsorship of
\nsports and cultural events.<\/p>\n
\"It seems like the sky is the limit for their promotional
\nbudgets. They do it because they are trying to find new smokers
\nto replace those who successfully kicked the habit or died
\nbecause of smoking,\" said Merdias, who also chairs the Indonesian
\nMedical Association.<\/p>\n
He discussed a 1994 survey of 1,000 smokers in Jakarta, which
\nfound that 31 percent started smoking between the ages of 10
\nyears and 17 years, 45 percent between 15 and 22 and 11 percent
\nbefore they were 10.<\/p>\n
He added that 1998 data from the Indonesia Health Profile
\nshowed that 20 percent of teenagers above 10 years old were
\nsmokers, with 33 percent of smokers aged between 15 and 19.<\/p>\n
Getting the message out about smoking is difficult because the
\ncountry earns a huge amount from tobacco revenue. For the
\n1999\/2000 fiscal year, the government is targeting Rp 10.8
\ntrillion from cigarette excises. (ste)<\/p>",
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