Smoking is not a crime, but...<\/p>\n
A man wrote a letter to a local newspaper complaining about
\nmembers of the House of Representatives smoking during an
\nofficial hearing he saw on television. The man said that the
\nmeeting room was air-conditioned, meaning that the well-educated
\nHouse members demonstrated less etiquette than taxi drivers who
\nuse the smoking room at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.<\/p>\n
Smoking has become a big controversy in this country. While
\nthe government enjoys the taxes imposed on cigarette producers,
\nwho employ a huge number of people, pressure against the
\ngovernment to respect nonsmokers is increasing.<\/p>\n
Smokers claim that they have the right to smoke anywhere they
\nchoose, while those who do not smoke argue that they have the
\nright to inhale clean air. It is unfair to \"force\" non-smokers to
\ninhale secondary smoke.<\/p>\n
Such a debate will soon disappear after the city
\nadministration's new regulations take effect.<\/p>\n
In defense of non-smokers, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso issued
\nsmoking regulations in June this year, only four months after the
\nair-pollution bylaw was deliberated by the City Council.<\/p>\n
Gubernatorial Decree No. 75 is meant to be an auxiliary
\nregulation for the implementation of the bylaw, meaning that any
\nviolators are subject to punishment as stipulated in the bylaw.<\/p>\n
The move deserves a thumbs-up, despite the fact that Jakarta
\nhas been left behind compared to, for example, Singapore, which
\nimposed similar regulations many years ago.<\/p>\n
While the decree and the bylaw will be effective in February
\n2006, smokers must be mentally prepared as they will be no longer
\nfree to light up in public buildings. Or else, they will get six
\nmonths in jail and\/or a fine of Rp 50 million.<\/p>\n
It is hard to imagine how the regulations will be implemented
\nwithout defiance, resistance or reluctance on the part of the
\npublic. Therefore, the city administration must be smart and
\neffectively use the current one-year information campaign period.<\/p>\n
There are a lot of things the administration can do to seek
\npublic support and awareness to convey the dangers of smoking.<\/p>\n
Television would be the most effective means to tell the
\npeople that smoking in public places will land them in jail.<\/p>\n
There are only few people who are informed that drivers of
\npublic buses, trains and taxis are expected to be frontliners of
\nthe no-smoking drive. They have the right to ask passengers to
\nput out their cigarettes. Both the decree and bylaw also
\nencourage passengers to ask the drivers to put out their
\ncigarettes while on duty. All this should be properly
\ncommunicated to the public.<\/p>\n
Building owners, offices (both private and government),
\nschools, houses of worship and owners of public transportation
\nvehicles, should also be made aware of the existence of the
\ngubernatorial decree and the bylaw.<\/p>\n
In an effort to promote the antismoking drive, Sutiyoso has
\nfrequently asked officials, employees and guests to refrain from
\nsmoking in the administration's offices. However, many city
\nofficials continue to ignore the requests.<\/p>\n
There is no other option for the administration but to be more
\nconsistent about the drive, and public involvement will be
\nnecessary. Non-governmental organizations, hospitals,
\nuniversities, schools and parents must all be involved to make
\nthe efforts more directed and effective.<\/p>\n
The involvement of schools will be very significant as a
\nJakarta-based magazine revealed in its 2004 survey that smoking
\nwas an entry point for drug use among teenagers. According to the
\nsurvey all school students who used drugs were smokers.<\/p>\n
According to Pelita Ilmu Foundation, around three million
\nteenagers in the country are smokers, 20 percent of whom are in
\njunior high school.<\/p>\n
The parents' role in the antismoking drive will be essential,
\nas it is the parents that need to have the awareness of the
\ndangers of smoking. Often parents cannot afford to send their
\nchildren to school or to health centers, but they still find
\nmoney for cigarettes. Sadly, parents are also unaware of the
\ndanger of secondary smoke, with fathers holding babies or
\ntoddlers while smoking a common sight.<\/p>\n
In short, the smoking ban is timely now that people face
\nincreasing hardships. Spending money on food is much better than
\nspending money for cigarettes. And as cigarette smoking is a
\nhealth hazard, it is imperative that people think twice as
\ndoctor's fees are now very expensive.<\/p>\n
As for the smokers, they may claim that smoking is not a crime
\ndeserving of a prison sentence and such a steep fine. However,
\nthey should take into account that forcing others to inhale
\nsecondary smoke is totally inconsiderate.<\/p>",
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